Drowning a sinking ship
by Dreams-of-coolfish
Summary: After the happening at the MoM, Harry felt guilty for leading his friends into danger and almost killing Sirius. He promised himself to start training hard but his life soon turned upside down... Creature fic! Tom/Harry pairing :3
1. Looking for?

**Author note**: Hello readers, this is my very first fanfic. As English is not my mother tongue, if there is any spelling or grammar mistake, please pardon me.

This is a creature fic, that is to say Voldemort/Tom and Harry are magical creature. In addition, Sirius is not dead. I like him too much to let him 'die' like in the canon. Also there will be some Ron and Ginny bashing as I dislike both a lot. Dumbledore will be manipulative, evil and ambition. So if you feel like throttle him like I wish at any time during reading, welcome to the club :3

Review is much appreciated as I view it as a way to communicate with the readers. More often than not, the readers provide many ideas which can enrich the story.

**Warning**: This is a **slash** fanfic. It means **boy X boy** relationship. If you are offended or not comfortable with it, please click the back button on top and choose another story.

**Summary**: It was the end of fifth year for Harry. After the happening at the Ministry of Magic, Harry once again returned to the Dursley. Feeling guilty for leading his friends into danger and almost killing Sirius, Harry promised himself to start training hard to fight against Voldemort. What he didn't expect was his life was about to turn upside down.

**Pairing**: Tom/Harry, Draco/Hermione (undecided)

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter. This story is written purely for fun and not for money.

Drowning a sinking ship

Chapter one – Looking for…?

The dark lord was sitting behind his desk in his study waiting impatiently for his men to return from their mission on his order. His slightly pursed lips reflected his bad mood. The wait had made him restless and agitated. His men better brought back positive results or there would be hell to pay.

The information his spy in the Ministry had uncovered confirmed his guesses. Those evident that he had obtained were hidden and well protected under lock. Now all he needed to do was to get the boy.

The knocks on the door pulled him away from his thinking. "Come in."

Three of his followers who he assigned the mission to came in. They entered the study quickly and knelt neatly in a row in front of the desk, "My lord." They greeted in unison.

He glared at his three followers with a dangerous glint in his red eyes. "Speak. You better not disappoint me." He warned and waited for them to report on their assignment.

"We couldn't get him, my lord." One of his knelt followers reported shakily.

"What do you mean you couldn't get him?" Voldemort's voice was not loud however the effect was worse than him shouting. His three followers flinched and paled instantly.

"The tracking spell we used failed. Dumbledore or the Order must have used an anti-tracking spell on the boy." Another follower explained timidly, tremor showed through his shaky voice.

"We attempted to follow him when the spell failed, my lord, just like you instructed, but a few Order members were protecting him from the shadow. They spotted us and we had to flee. You had ordered us not to attack in case we were found." The third follower added fearfully.

Reining in his temper with a deep breath, he barked, "Get out!" Immediately all three terrified men scrambled from the room, inwardly thanking their lucky stars that they escaped without punishment.

How did a simple mission of tracking the boy to find out where he lived could flop so easily. And to think that he had selected those three who were supposed to be excellent in shadowing people. "A bunch of incompetent idiots!" raged Voldemort. His right hand clenched tightly showing white knuckles. 'Damn that stupid old man and his Order,' he thought furiously. Dumbledore and the Order had dared to hide the boy from him, they would pay.

Frustration made him paced back and fro in front of the fireplace. He planned to get the boy before his birthday and talk to him. The dark lord wanted to be there for the boy when he came into his inheritance on his sixteenth birthday. Now his plan was thwarted by a few incompetence fools and the Order.

No matter. If he couldn't get to the boy now, he would be able to on the boy's birthday. The pulling force of the mate bond would guide him to the boy. The blood ward surrounding the boy's house would be useless against him as he had the boy's blood in him now. The only challenge would be the wards which would alert Dumbledore and the Order of any forced entry. It was going to be a challenge to be able to cross the wards without the alarm going off. He had to think of a plan. Darn the old man! The boy was his!

When he was about to summon Lucius for discussion, a few loud tapping were heard from the window. When he opened the window, an unrecognized white owl flew in gracefully. "What the hell!" He cursed loudly at no one. His manor had anti-owl wards! How did the bird find its way in?

The owl landed on the back of his seat and eyed him pointedly. The owl seemed to be assessing him with its predator-like yellow eyes. After several moments which it seemed to be satisfied with whatever it was looking for, it then hopped onto his desk and picked up his quill in between its beak. It hooted encouragingly at him.

The unusual intelligent displayed by the owl made the dark lord narrowed his eyes at the bird suspiciously. When the owl continued to look at him hopefully, his frustration peaked to a new height. "What do you want? You stupid bird!" said the dark lord sarcastically. The dark lord almost rolled his eyes at himself. Bird can't talk. Did he expect the bird to answer him? His sanity must be wearing thin due to his ever climbing bad mood. The snowy owl hooted again, this time disapprovingly.

Suddenly, realization struck him. The bird belonged to the boy! Information his followers gathered on the boy mentioned about him owning a snowy white owl. Without thinking how ridiculous he action was going to be, he asked the bird, "Hoot once if you belong to Harry Potter." The owl hooted just once.

This might just work!

"You are one clever bird." He eyed the owl appraisingly. The owl hooted smugly. Seemed like there was more to this snowy owl than its beautiful appearance but now was not the time to ponder about that.

By right he should be caution, it was not everyday occurrence that your enemy's owl 'visited' you asking for a written letter and assisting you in your plotting against its owner. It was just so surreal but the owl's 'you-can-trust-me' look made him pushed his skeptical doubt aside.

He sat down behind his desk and formulated his plan.

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

Harry was back in his relatives' house at no. 4 Privet Drive after his 5th year at Hogwarts. It had been 3 days since his return and his relatives more or less left him alone. Even more amazing was the fact that they said nothing when he took his trunk to his room instead of the usual lockup under the stairs the moment he got back, most likely due to the 'talk' that had taken place at the train station. Vernon and Petunia must have been thoroughly intimidated by Moody's revolving eye that they took the 'talk' to heart.

Ever since he first stepped into the house and after listening to his aunt speech of 'I don't care what your _friends_ said, you are to remain in your room for your entire stay. I will bring you your meals and let you out 2 times a day for bathroom. You are not to come out of your room otherwise. Is that clear?' Harry had been coop up in his room. Even though he had lost his freedom, he was rather glad for it. Being locked up meant no chores and minimum belittlement. Finally being wise for once, he stocked up his trunk with food under stasis charm with the help of Dobby just before leaving school. So even with the morsel amount of food provided by Aunt Petunia, he would not go hungry. Of course he could not let them found out about that or there would be trouble.

Since he did not have to do chores, he had a lot of free time. Besides doing his summer homework, he spent most of his time thinking about what had happened at the Ministry of Magic and the prophecy told by Dumbledore. Among the uncertainty, regrets, guilt and restlessness, one feeling stood out; resentment. Harry resented Dumbledore and began to doubt some of his actions.

Firstly he knew the importance of Harry learning Occlumency and yet assigned Snape as the tutor when he was well aware of Snape's hostility towards him. He did not explain that Voldemort could plant false visions in his dreams and lead him to believe that occlumency was to help him with his nightmares only. If Dumbledore had done that, he would have put up with all the snarky remarks from Snape and learnt, no matter how awful they were. He might not end up being tricked by Voldemort and risking the lives of his friends and Sirius. Tremor would rack through him every time he recalled how Sirius nearly fell into the veil. It was only luck that Remus who was beside him at that time managed to pull him away.

Secondly, Dumbledore never trained him. How was he, a school trained wizard able to 'vanquish' the dark lord who had years of experience and extensive knowledge? It made no sense.

Lastly was the look on Dumbledore's face when the dark lord taunted him into killing him. Harry might have lost control of his body at that time but he was still able to see. The brief glint that flashed across Dumbledore's eyes showed that the old man wanted to do precisely that despite his vocal persuasion. 'For the greater good.' Harry would bet half his fortune at Gringott that Dumbledore would give that as an excuse if he did fire the killing curse.

When Voldemort possessed him, it was painful and unpleasant. Yet there was another feeling he could not describe. Behind the pain, there was… he felt whole… a connection… 'I must be out of my mind.' decided Harry. Before he could stop his train of thoughts, flashes of the dark lord's memory that he had somehow obtained during the possession entered his mind… the loneliness of being shunned by others because you were so poor you needed scholarship… the unfairness of being isolated by your classmates because of your talents and good grades… Harry found himself pitying the young Riddle in those memories. If only there was an adult or a friend who was willing to help or guide him, maybe there would be no Lord Voldemort today.

Tapping sounds on the window pane shook him out of his thinking. He walked over and pried open the one and only loosen wooden panel across the window so that whichever owl waiting outside could enter. He was immensely pleased and relieved when he saw it was Hedwig.

"Girl, where have you been? You had me worried. You didn't turn up during the first night and I thought something bad must have happened to you." said Harry as he ruffled her feathers. He noticed a letter tied to one of her legs. Hedwig hooted reassuringly and stuck out her leg so that he could untie it. As soon as the letter came off its leg, Hedwig drank some water from her water bowl and flew off again.

Since it was Hedwig who had delivered the letter, Harry rightly assumed that it was one of his friends who had written to him. He opened the letter without any suspicion. The letter inside was a piece of parchment about the same size as the envelope but slightly smaller. The wording was so short that Harry could finish reading it with a glance.

Harry,

I need to speak to you face to face.

'Who could it be?' thought Harry. There was no name signing off at the end of the letter. After several minutes of pondering, he could come up with no known person who might send him such a cryptic letter. Shrugging, he decided to leave it be since without a name, it was quite impossible for him to send a reply back. Most probably the sender would contact him again if it was important. Maybe later he could ask Hedwig when she returned. When he was putting the letter away, he heard someone knocking loudly at the front door downstairs. Harry could hear his uncle complaining loudly about rude salesman interrupting a good TV show and his heavy footsteps to the door.

"What do you want?" His uncle's voice was full of annoyance. Several moments later his uncle spoke again. This time his voice was full of contempt, "Look, we don't want you _lot_ to come here…"

Vernon's loud voice stopped abruptly followed by a loud thud. Most likely Vernon had been rendered unconscious and dropped onto the floor. 'Uncle Vernon may be rude but members of the Order will not curse him,' Harry thought. Just then two more dull thuds could be heard from the first floor. 'Shit! It must be the death eater. I need to get out of here.' Knowing that the window was his only escape route, he had to open it somehow. He quickly went to retrieve his wand and invisible cloak from under the floorboard. There was no time to lose. The intruder would be able to find him easily and soon.

The moment Harry stood up from the chair he sensed something was wrong with him. For some unknown reasons, his body was fast becoming sluggish that he had difficulty moving across the room. Not only that, he felt dizzy and was starting to see double image of everything he looked at. 'Damn it! Come on move!' By the time he had his wand, he could hardly move.

Pushing his panic aside, Harry forcefully lifted his lead-filled arm and aimed his wand at the window. Before he could fire a blasting hex, his strength was leaving him in such an alarming rate that his heavy body slid down onto the floor against his wish. At the same time his scar began to hurt. This was not a good sign. A hurting scar meant that Voldemort was near.

By now Harry could sense that the intruder was standing outside the door. There was no way for him to escape through the window now. Forcing himself up into a sitting position and trying his hardest to fight the drowsiness, Harry aimed his wand at the door. He would stun the intruder when the door opened and made his escape. He could only hope that Voldemort came alone.

The moment the door opened, a red stunner left Harry's wand, but it did not have the desire result he wanted. The stunner bounced off the intruder and before Harry could send another, his world turned black.

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

The dark lord waited patiently. Once the boy touched the letter, the tracking charm would activate immediately and he would know where the boy was.

Another 'special effect' that he had added to the letter was that the parchment had been coated with a special potion which had the similar effect of a dreamless draught and strong muscle relaxant. The special part about the potion was that it entered the body system through skin contact instead of the usual ingestion, a creative invention by Snape. The unsuspecting boy would be rendered weak and unconscious and unable to escape.

After an hour since the snowy owl had flown off, the signal came: #4 Privet Drive, Surrey. 'Excellent.' Without wasting any time, the dark lord apparated.

The dark lord appeared in a dark alley a few meters away from his destination. Spreading his magic outwards, he sought out any presence of wizard in the surrounding area. None, there was no Order members guarding the boy. He then proceeded to inspect the wards protecting the house. After 10 minutes, he sneered. This was the kind of protection provided by Dumbledore to protect the boy? There was not even one offensive ward that helped to fight off intruders.

The house was heavily warded but not foolproof. It had loopholes that were exploitable with some clever thinking. The anti-apparition, anti-portkey and the intent ward which barred anyone with intention to harm the occupants of the house from entering could be torn down easily, as long as the alarm ward that set off when magic was being performed did not activate. The alarm ward was not difficult to tackle either. It should have been nullified by the invisible rune written at the back of the letter by now. The anti-dark mark ward was useless against him. The dark lord had to suppress an urge to roll his eyes at the stupidity of the old senile man. He, Lord Voldemort, had a dark mark on his left arm? You got to be kidding. Dark mark was meant to brand onto his followers' arms, not on him. Didn't the old man know? It was laughable. Upon further careful inspection, there was no sign of bloody blood ward. What an old liar. This showed how manipulative the old man was.

Smirking, the dark lord dismantled the wards effortlessly. He did nothing to the alarm ward even though it should be unresponsive by now. He would not take unnecessary risk since he did not know whether tearing down that particular ward would also trigger an alarm or not.

A big fat man who reminded him of a buffalo opened the door. The man showed an annoyed face and said rudely, "What do you want?" When the buffalo man noticed his clothing, he sneered loudly, "Look, we don't want you _lot_ to come here…

Before the man could finish his sentence, the dark lord got bored and stunned the man. 'Some ass he is.' He kicked the fallen man further into the house and shut the door behind him. With no one to block his way, the dark lord walked into the house. The alarm did not go off. Pleased with the result, he walked further in. A horse face woman, who must have been alerted by the commotion, was walking briskly down the stairs with a… whale… boy towing behind her.

"Who are you? What did you do to my husband?" She demanded even though she was clearly frightened and pale.

"Never heard of Lord Voldermort?" He answered lazily. If possible, the woman's face paled even further. With a flick of his wand, he stunned the two persons before they could scream and alert the neighbors. He watched with some amusement as the whale boy tumbled down the last few steps of the stairs. The action reminded him of the muggle nursery character Humpty Dumpty.

Taking his time, he walked up the stairs and approached the room where he felt the boy's magic was coming from. Frowning at the sight of the padlocks mounted onto the door, he unlocked it. Just in case the boy was still able to fight back, he erected a shield before opening the door. Once the door was opened wide enough for him to look inside the small room, a red spell rocketed towards him. It bounced off his shield and hit the opposite wall. Scanning the room, he found the boy whose face scowled with an effort to stay awake, was slumped on the floor. By the next eye blink, the boy gave in to the potency of the potion and went out like a candle.

Even though it was only for a brief moment, the piercing look of those big green eyes stayed. Voldemort blinked once then shook his head. He walked into the room, pocketed the boy's wand and scooped him up into his arms. The moment the dark lord had the boy, he immediately apparated back to his manor, just in case somehow Dumbledore and the Order of the flaming chicken had been alerted.

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

A/N: Please excuse my lousy English o.0" Please tell me what you think of the story. Thanks.


	2. The tale of a wise old man

**Warning**: This is a **slash** fanfic. It means **boy X boy** relationship. If you are offended or not comfortable with it, please choose another story.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter. This story is written purely for fun and not for money.

Drowning a sinking ship

Chapter two – The tale of a wise old man.

The Slytherin manor, the home of Lord Voldemort and headquarter of the death eaters, stood gloomy and aloof on top of a hill. Like Salazar Slytherin, the first owner and designer intended, it was hidden from preying eyes by the surrounding deep forest which provided a natural concealment. Strong ancient wards erected around the manor provided additional protection against magical means.

Perching on a tree near to the foyer of the manor, a certain white owl waited patiently and its blinking yellow eyes surveyed the surrounding for strange occurrence. Minutes later a soft 'click' disturbed the quiet night. The owl turned towards the sound and hooted. It spread its wings and swept down onto the shoulder of the man who appeared with a boy in his arms.

The moment the owl landed on the man's shoulder, it hooted urgently at him. "He will be fine." The man answered softly. "The old fool will never manipulate him again." The owl hooted happily in respond. The owl must be satisfied with the man's answers for it spread its wings and took flight into the night.

While pondering how the owl managed to arrive at the manor before him when it previously took an hour to deliver his letter, the dark lord walked into the manor and continued up the stairs and into his private quarters. He now had one more piece of puzzler added to his to-be-solved list about that snowy white owl.

Once he entered his bedroom, the dark lord placed the boy gently onto his bed. Slowly, he studied the sleeping boy. The boy was frowning slightly, creating creases in between the eyes while he slept. Short messy black hair felt so soft and silky when he combed his fingers through it. Long eyelashes fanned above well defined cheekbones and a pair of beckoning-to-be-kiss lips made him a tempting piece of art. The boy was beautiful but the baggy clothes that he was wearing were an eyesore. He then proceeded to strip those over-size rags off the boy.

The young man might be on the thin side, but well toned muscles on limbs, back and body made up for the necessary body build. An appreciative sigh escaped him as his eyes roamed over the boy's naked body.

Taking an undershirt and a pair of boxers from the wardrobe beside the bed, he then dressed the boy in it. Seeing his mate dress in his underwear and lay in his bed caused a warm possessive feeling to stir in him. Unable to help himself, he kissed the boy on the lips. All those fantasizing never came close to the real deal. Soft supple lips with hints of mint and lily assaulted his sense, urging him to take things further. Reluctantly, he forced himself to pull back. Now was not the right time to do this. He needed to convince the boy and woo him to his side. Taking advantage of the boy now would not earn him his trust. Allowing himself another quick peck on those irresistible lips, he drew the blanket and covered the boy with it.

With a final look, the dark lord left the room.

/- / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

It was near noon when Harry snapped opened his eyes and found himself in an unfamiliar room. He sat up on the bed and found that he still had difficulty moving. 'I must have been kidnapped by Voldemort,' thought Harry as memories before he lost conscious ran through his mind. Putting on his glasses which he found laying on the nightstand, Harry surveyed the room to search for his wand and a possible escape route. Being in enemy's territory made that his top priority right now. He would not waste any time or energy on either thinking of a possible reason why he woke up in a room instead of a dungeon cell or what he was wearing. Just as long as the back of his mind registered the fact that he was wearing something and not naked, he was fine with it.

The first place he looked at was the wooden frame king size bed which he was sitting on. After searching through the mattress with no success of finding his wand, he then looked around the room. A few feet away from the foot of the bed were three huge windows framed with light blue curtains. The curtains were drawn to let in ambient lights. A coffee table and two armchairs were placed in front of the window. On the left of the bed was a huge wardrobe and next to it was a door which Harry guessed it lead to a bathroom. On the right of the bed was a lit fireplace, its dancing fire filled the room with warmth. A love seat was placed in front of it. Next to the fireplace was another door. It was a fairly large size room which was decorated tastily with dark wood furniture but there was no sign of his wand.

'Well, what to do now?' Harry pondered. 'I must try to contact the Order or Dumbledore. They may have yet to know I have been abducted but to do that I need to get out of here and somehow find an owl.' To escape from the window was out of the question. From what he could see, the room he was in was at least 3 storeys high. If he jumped from the window, he would either end up with a broken neck or broken legs which would not help him in anyway. 'Yah, like I'm Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible.' So that left the doors. Deciding that that was the best way to tackle his problem, he began to move.

When he tried to leave the bed, he fell right back to sitting onto the bed as his legs refused to support him. He could barely stand. 'Great, I can't even stand up, how am I going to escape from wherever here is?' groaned Harry inwardly.

When Harry was wondering what he should do next, the door next to the fireplace opened and a man entered.

Harry's eyes went wide at the sight of the man and gasped out a name, "Voldemort!" Despite his shock, Harry could not help but noticed how handsome the dark lord was. Gone were the snake-like features that he had seen at the graveyard. Voldemort now looked like an older version of Tom Riddle whom Harry had fought in his 2nd year; neat wavy brown hair, pale white skin and an aristocratic pureblood face. The only feature that remained unchanged was the pair of red eyes.

"Hello Harry, how are you this morning?" Voldemort greeted cordially, like he was a long time friend of Harry.

"What do you want?" asked Harry warily, watching out for any sign of wand, "And where is here?"

"I _invited_ you here for a discussion." The dark lord sat down in one of the armchairs by the window and faced him. "This is my home, Slytherin Manor."

'Slytherin Manor?' Harry wanted to ask but did not say anything. He merely narrowed his eyes and waited for the dark lord to make his next move.

"I'm sure you must be hungry, Thumbnail!" A small house elf popped in. It bowed once and then waited for instructions. "Get the boy some food," ordered the dark lord.

"Yes master lord. Thumbnail will do that." With that said, the little creature popped away. A few seconds later the house elf returned with a tray of food. It placed the tray beside Harry, gave a short bow and then popped away.

Harry looked at the food warily and hesitated.

"I will not poison you before telling you my ambition and my plan of world domination," reassured the dark lord lazily. A small smirk appeared at the corner of his mouth.

'Did Voldemort just make a joke?' Harry's jaw dropped slightly, momentary unable to think of this man as the same evil snake-like 'thing' which he fought against in the graveyard.

"Flies, Harry." Harry closed his mouth quickly. "Eat before I state my piece." Knowing that he needed to have some energy back, Harry dug in.

Satisfied that the boy obeyed him, Voldemort began to talk, "Did you know why I attacked your family 14 years ago?" Getting no respond from the boy, he continued to talk, "A prophecy was made by your Divination professor when she was having an interview for her teaching post at Hog's Head inn in Hogsmeade. Halfway through the interview, she went into a trance and made a prophecy. Dumbledore witnessed the whole incident. One of my followers at that time overheard the first part of the prophecy before he was found nosing around and got kicked out."

"I know that already," interrupted Harry, all the while eating hungrily. Since whatever the dark lord was going to say would be lies, he rather concentrated on filling his stomach while he could, a decision prompted by his survival instinct. Who knew when his next meal was going to be or if there was a next meal? Lucky for him, he was given a large share.

His disinterest must have shown on his face as Voldemort gave him a hard stare. "The prophecy was made briefly after you and the Longbottom boy were born. Based on the limited prophecy I had known, I determined either you or the Longbottom boy would be my vanquisher. I chose to attack you first because you are a direct descendant of Godic Gryffindor; you will have more potential. You know what happened next."

Harry might not want to believe Voldemort but his words reminded him that he was sitting in front of the murderer of his parents and yet he could do nothing. He had to bite his lips to prevent himself from snapping at the man. He did not want to incur the man's anger and be killed on the spot. He needed to survive and take revenge later. As emotion raged inside him, his eyes turned to a darker shade of green and he lost his appetite. The food was pushed aside and forgotten.

The dark lord continued on as though unaware of the turmoil going through the boy's mind. "It seemed logical to do that at that time; eliminate my potential enemy before he becomes full fledge. I suppose it's the same thing as you kept fighting me because I'm your parents' killer." Here the dark lord paused to gather his thoughts. "Both of us had suffered. I spent 10 years as a wondering helpless spirit while you were raised in your relatives' abusive home. But did you know that all these happened was because of one manipulative old man's scheme?"

What Voldemort said caught Harry's attention. His anger receded and curiosity peaked. He raised his head to look at the man, willing him to continue.

Knowing that by telling the truth was the only way to convince Harry and earn his trust, the dark lord continued, "There is no such prophecy in the first place. Dumbledore staged the interview with Trelawney to make me aware of the fake prophecy so that I would specifically target you. The Longbottom boy was just a coincidence. He knew me in and out and that I will eliminate any threats."

"Why was it me?" Harry asked in a flat tone. He could not think of a reason why Dumbledore wanted to hurt him or his family. He was just a baby then for goodness sake.

"As I said before, you are a direct descendant of Godic Gryffindor. When you reach your majority, you will inherit the Gryffindor's vault. The vault which only the heir can access contains information which Dumbledore craved. He plotted to kill you and your parents so that there will be no more potential heir other than himself to fight for the inherit rights."

"What information did he want so much that he plotted to destroy me and my family?" asked Harry in the same flat tone.

"Salazar Slytherin discovered a way to immortality and told his good friend Godic Gryffindor. Godic Gryffindor had written the secret in his personal journal and because he viewed the way to immortality discovered by Salazar Slytherin to be against his moral but the value of the knowledge was too great to be destroyed, he sealed the journal inside the Gryffindor vault which can only be accessed by his heir. The existence of the book is a well-kept secret within the family and only to be told to the next heir by the head of the family before he dies. Not even the wife can know about the existence of the book. Your grandparents were murdered when your father was out of the country so I won't be surprised if he didn't know."

"It is a well known fact that Dumbledore is a descendant from the Gryffindor line. I do not know how he knew of the family secret as he is not a descendant from Godic's heir. But since he is not the heir, he is denied access to the vault."

"How did you know what he was after? I mean his mind must be well protected against Legiliment attacks." Harry frowned lightly. "And how did you know all that and Slytherin's discovery?"

"I knew because I'm the heir to the Slytherin line. I came across a journal of Salazar Slytherin when I inherited the vault. Slytherin mentioned those things that I just told you in his journal. Dumbledore knew that I'm the heir to the Slytherin line and always kept an eye on me when I was in Hogwarts. At first I thought it was because of the bad reputation of Slytherin that made him spy on me, he was scared that as the heir I might turn dark. After my seventeenth birthday, he bribed some of my dorm mates to fish information about the journal out from me. One of them _slipped_ his tongue while trying to get me to talk."

"How can Dumbledore be sure that the book will be in the Gryffindor vault? Won't his effort be wasted if the book is no longer there? Why is he willing to take such risk for a book?"

"It is not just a mere book." The dark lord looked pointedly at the boy. "Even if the book is gone, the vault still contains enormous treasure collected by generations of heirs. He will not lose out."

"Okay, all you have said so far sound logical and make sense. But why did he pick you to be the _executor_ of his plan? He can just choose anyone."

"I can only make some deductions base on his ambition character." Voldemort let out a small sigh and then continued, "I was viewed as a threat to the wizarding world at that time. I guess he was hoping that if I was badly injured, he could take the opportunity to duel me in my weaken state. He would have an easier time finishing me off and be hailed as a hero, again. Even if my injuries were not serious, it was still a weak point where he could exploit. I was after all after a powerful family of the Gryffindor line; I couldn't have gotten away unscathed."

Harry nodded to show that he followed his logic. He sensed that there was more to the reasons the dark lord had said but did not press for it.

"You survived while I was temporally defeated on that Halloween night. He knew that I'm not gone and he couldn't harm you then as you have become the-boy-who-lived, so he left you with your abusive relatives. He wants you to be ignorant and malleable, to be able to control you so that you will fight me when I arise again while he waits at the sideline and harvests all the benefits."

"If Dumbledore wants us to fight, then why did he protect me with blood wards based on my mother's sacrifice?" Harry pointed out the illogical part.

"I studied the wards when I went to get you, there was no blood ward protecting the house," stated Voldemort.

"What about Quirrel then? Didn't he die because of the protection of the blood ward based on my mum's sacrifice? Isn't that a proof that it exist?" Harry countered. "And won't anyone who study the wards like you did will know that he lies?"

"Your mother was willing to sacrifice her life in exchange of yours. In her extreme determination to protect and her love for you, her magic must have answered her wish. I strongly believe that her magic lingers inside you protecting you against me." The dark lord said softly. "Magic sometimes has a mind of its own. It responds to our emotion and wish if it is strong enough. Accidental magic is a proof of it. Take for example, when a child is in danger, most likely he would wish desperately to escape. His strong desire for safety may cause his magic to respond and apparate him to a safe location."

'Is that why my scar hurts every time when Voldemort is near me? To warn me from danger?' thought Harry, 'Now the man does not want to harm me, so it stops hurting?' Before he could ponder further, the dark lord continued to speak.

"Every wizard is able to cast wards as long as they have the knowledge and are powerful enough. But to be able to identify which wards had been casted will require skill which is hard and difficult to learn. Dumbledore merely needs to lie. Since he is trusted by everyone, none doubts him." Voldemort remained quiet after that, giving some time for the boy to process the given information.

Harry did not know what to think. The dark lord's claim was logical and reasonable. If what he said was true, then the real culprit who caused his parent's death was Dumbledore. If Dumbledore had not faked that prophecy, his parents would not have died, his godfather would not have gone after that traitor and suffered 12 years in Azkaban and he would not have grown up without love. All the righteous reasons that made him fight against Voldemort would become invalid. 'Darn! If it's true… then I've… I've been helping the man who masterminded the death of my parents…' thought Harry appallingly. 'Gosh! I need to calm down.' After he took many shaky deep breaths, he asked, "Can you prove it and… can you let me read that Slytherin's journal too?"

Voldemort stared at the boy for several seconds before he approached the bed and scooped him up. The dark lord then started to walk out of the room.

"Hey, put me down," demanded Harry, "I can walk by myself and where are you bringing me to?"

"Do not lie to me. You can hardly stand," scolded the dark lord. "The proof that you wanted was kept secure in my private study. It is better that I bring you there instead of removing it from the room." He explained in a much softer tone.

"And whose fault is that," murmured Harry under his breath. The dark lord ignored him and continued walking.

When they reached there, Voldemort put him down onto a lounge and then walked away towards a closed cabinet. When he returned, he placed a pensieve and several glass vials which contained some silvery substances down on the coffee table. Once he had sat down beside Harry, he proceeded to open the vials and empty them one by one into the pensieve. "One week before the holiday started, one of my followers found Trelawney on her rare visit to Hogsmeade. He abducted her and brought her to me. After I obtained these memories, I oblivated her and sent her back unharmed because I do not wish to alert Dumbledore."

Harry gave the dark lord a look before they both plunged into the basin.

_Harry recognized the room. He was in the Headmaster's office. The room did not change much except the two persons there. A younger Trelawney and a younger Dumbledore were sitting around a table by the window having tea._

"_I found out from the Ministry that Tom Riddle and baby Harry are mate." said Dumbledore while sipping tea._

"_How did you know? The Ministry wouldn't have leaked out such information."_

"_There is a book in the Marriage and Bonding Department which will automatically record every bond that exist. The book is just for recording sake and usually no one will bother to read it. My connection in the Ministry informed me of it." His eyes twinkled. "Perhaps we can make use of this information to our advantage. I will need your help."_

"_Fake prophecy?" said the seer with glee._

"_Yes, your specialty. Make the dark lord kill his mate. It will be even better if the boy's parents die too while protecting their son."_

"_What if the parents survive?"_

"_If James and Lily survive, I can always send them on 'mission'. They will fight their best because of their dead son." explained the man smugly._

"_Then you will get the vault. Don't forget my share of the treasures inside." reminded Trelawney greedily._

"_I won't," answered the headmaster slyly._

"_Okay, I will get the prophecy done first then we will discuss it further."_

_The surrounding blurred and then he was showed another memory. This time he was in the Headmaster's office yet again. Similar to the previous memory, Dumbledore and Trelawney were the only one in the room._

"_What do you think of my 'prophecy'?" asked Trelawney eagerly, sitting across the desk._

"_Very good, I always know you're the best." Dumbledore beamed after finished reading the parchment. "Now, we need to 'deliver' this to Voldemort. We need someone who the dark lord trusts to do it. The problem is how."_

"_Have you forgotten my talented 'acting skill'?" She suggested slyly._

"_Oh that's right, my dear lady, what am I going to do without you?" The man grinned evilly. "And I believe I just thought of a suitable candidate. Severus Snape is a death eater and his interview for the Potion teaching post is on next Wednesday. I can arrange it at Hog's Head."_

"_We will make up some excuse for me being there," said Trelawney excitedly, "We just need to make sure a certain someone did 'overhear' us."_

_The memory changed again. This time it showed a small meeting room of sort. Same like the previous 2 memories, there were only Dumbledore and Trelawney there. When Harry looked the 'surrounding' carefully, he noticed the door to the room was slightly ajar. The opening was not wide enough for anyone to look inside the room properly but good enough to overhear any conversation._

_Obviously the dark lord's man was spying from there._

_Somewhere near to the end of the interview, Harry observed that Dumbledore who had his back to the door gave Trelawney a meaningful look. Immediately, she went into a 'trance' and began to recite, "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…" Before Trelawney could continue with the prophecy, a commotion outside the room disturbed the proceeding. Harry saw Dumbledore show an irritated look before he quickly changed it into his usual grandfatherly one. After he had sent the bartender away, he sat down again._

"_Well, that went okay," said the fake seer._

"_Damn the bartender! He nearly flop our plan. I may need to do some damage control." The headmaster huffed annoyingly._

"_Don't worry, everything will go well. You'll see." pacified the woman flirtatiously._

_The memory shifted then. Again it was only Dumbledore and Trelawney there in a room which Harry did not recognize._

"_The boy did not die and is you-know-who really gone? What are we going to do?" asked the fake seer worriedly._

"_The dark lord is not gone permanently, but don't worry my good lady, a plan of mine has already started. I have sent the boy to his 'nice' muggle relatives." The headmaster grinned wickedly. "He will be ignorant and under my control once he is old enough to go to Hogwarts. He will 'help' me fight when Voldemort comes back while I become his benevolent mentor."_

"_What about his godfather Sirius? I think the man's innocent, he may get to the boy."_

"_I took care of that already. All I need was to point out some… facts to the Minister and the man got locked up in Azkaban without a trial," explained the old man in triumph._

"_You thought of everything, didn't you?" The woman said in a worshiping voice._

"_Why bother to dirty your own hand when you can have others to do it for you," smirked the old man._

_Then the memory ended and Harry felt someone grab his arm and was lifted from the pensieve._

The only thing Harry felt was anger; pure white hot anger. "That… that old… Damn!" He was so angry that he could not speak properly. "He masterminded the murder of my parents… messed up my life… and… and… Sirius… Shit!" Small ornaments around the room started to shake as his magic responded to his anger. "I'm going to slice him up into pieces before I let him die…" Harry breathed heavily. "I'm going to make sure he will experience the most excruciating pain that he _won't dare cross me even in his next life!_" He was so angry that he slipped into parseltongue without realizing it. By now even the windows and the books on the shelf were starting to rattle.

Knowing that the boy was about to lose control, Voldemort moved the boy onto his laps. One of his hands cuddled the boy against him while the other rubbed soothing circles on the boy's lower back to calm him down. "Shhh… calm down, take some deep breaths. We will have our revenge soon. I will make sure he is unable to escape." Slowly bit by bit, the rattling stopped and the dark lord could feel the tension left the boy.

Harry concentrated on his breathing and remained silent in the arms of the dark lord. When the anger ebbed away, the unbelievable truth once again spun his mind round and round and he did not know what to do. Not only was it hard to accept, it was also mindboggling. He got the enemy wrong. He had been fighting for the wrong reason. He had been used like a tool and to be sacrificed. His life had been written like a soap opera and his actions had been strung like a puppet. He suffered for nothing. His parents got killed because of some stupid book. His childhood, the love from his parents and a family that by right should had been there in his grasp were gone because of a man's selfish agenda. Damn! The betrayal, the unfairness and sadness overwhelmed him so much that he could take it no more; hot tears started rolling down his cheeks.

Voldemort rocked the boy gently in his arms as he wept. He knew that Harry had a strong character and did not cry easily. When he did, it meant that he was really sad. As he comforted the crying boy, he inwardly vowed that he would make sure Dumbledore would suffer the pain of a thousand deaths before he died. No one made his mate cry and got away with it.

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

"Did you find anything else when you shuffled through Trelawney's mind?" asked Harry after he deemed himself calm enough.

"She is a fraud who cheats peoples' money before she met Dumbledore. Her famous ancestor's reputation helped her to draw the veil over the victim's eyes. Dumbledore enlisted her help when he found out about her _talents_. He offered her a share of the money from the vault but didn't tell her about the journal."

"She will be the next person after Dumbledore on my to-kill list." stated Harry firmly.

"After the… tragic, Dumbledore got her to be the Divination professors so as to keep her close and her mouth shut. I came across a memory of him explaining to her that my death eaters would target her because she was the one who prophesied my death. She was scared shitless and rarely left her tower as a result."

"She deserves that." Harry snorted, thinking about the paranoid professor who ever so often predicted his demise. 'It must be one of Dumbledore's plots to keep reminding me of my precarious life so that I will keep fighting.' While rolling his eyes, a part of the seen memories flashed through his mind. "Emm… what did the old man mean when he said about the mate thing?" asked Harry shyly and uncertainly in a small voice. His cheeks reddened slightly. "I thought mate is only for magical creatures or someone who has magical creature blood."

The change in the boy's demure brought a smile to Voldemort's lips. Now this was something nice to talk about. Just hope that his soon-to-be mate would not be running away from him for another reason other than him being his enemy. Too comfortable to have the boy in his arms, he continued to hold him and started explaining, "Do you know that Gryffindor and Slytherin have recessive vampire genes in their line?" After he felt the boy give a few shakes of his head, he continued, "They are usually laid dormant and often never show up. Sometimes when new blood is introduced into the line, the dormant genes become active. From what I have found, you are the first to-be vampire in 6 generations."

Harry's eyes widened at the phase 'to-be', "New blood? Do you mean my mother? How can you be sure that I will be a vampire? I thought you have to be bitten by one?"

"No, you don't have to be bitten by a vampire to be one. Some are born with the vampire genes like us. The turning will occur when the wizard reaches his majority."

"That will be 17 years old right?" asked Harry.

"The majority of wizard is at their seventeenth birthday but for those who have magical creature blood, it will be on their sixteenth. Vampires have mates and there is a bond between the pair. Once a dominance vampire reaches 16, he will feel a pulling force from the bond which will guide him to his mate. If the mate has not yet turned 16 by then, he will experience nothing until the submissive has their birthday. Once the mates completed their bonding, the bond will be strengthened and finalized. Depending on their mate, if the submissive is a vampire, then an extra mind link will form between the pair after their bonding. If in the case of the mate is a human, then there will be no mind link formed."

"Then how do you know that I'm your mate since my birthday is one month away?" Harry blushed prettily. "And I still don't see why I will be turned on my sixteenth birthday."

"It is because sometimes I could hear your thoughts or feel your emotions," explained the dark lord.

"Huh? I still don't understand."

"Since after dueling you at the graveyard, I began to experience bits of foreign emotions, dream of weird events and sometimes the back of my right hand hurt for no apparent reasons. From there, I came to a conclusion that our mind was linked somehow. At that time I never suspected that you could be my mate. I thought that our minds were linked because of your scar. I think the mind link began to form before the bonding was due to me using your blood during my resurrection ritual."

"When those weird happenings became more frequent and the dreams became more vivid, I began to doubt my judgment. Since everything started from me knowing the prophecy and I did not have the whole content, I decided to start investigating from there."

"So you fed me with false visions to get the prophecy." Harry pouted slightly. He still could not get over the fact that he had been tricked.

"Yes, but I'm not sorry. I may not have managed to get the prophecy, but possessing you made me realize that you could be my mate. At that time I wanted to take you away with me but Dumbledore was there."

"He wanted to kill us when you possessed me then, didn't he? I saw it in his eyes. He didn't do it because Fudge and many other people just happened to arrive."

"I know. That's why I released you. Many people had been fooled by his grandfatherly look that they didn't see beyond the mask." The dark lord sighed deeply then smirked, "Once the prophecy was destroyed, I had to turn to its source so I ordered my men to look out for Trelawney. As I said before, one of my followers found Trelawney. He abducted her and brought her to me. Once I viewed her memories, all the different pieces of info clicked into place and I finally realized Dumbledore's plan."

"Sly old coot, I hate him. He murdered my parents, messed up Sirius's and my life," huffed Harry heatedly, "I refuse to be his chess piece anymore."

"Neither will I allow," promised the man. "I think you have enough excitement for the day. Let's get you back to the room so you can rest. We can always talk later."

Knowing what the dark lord said was true, Harry nodded his head. His mind was already saturated and unable to process any more information, "Okay, Vold… what should I call you?"

"Call me by my middle name, Marvolo." answered Voldemort as he stood and walked towards the door carrying the boy in his arms. "Tom reminds me of my muggle father who abandoned my witch mother."

"Okay, Marvolo." agreed Harry. "Can you lend me books on Vampire?"

"Later," answered the dark lord.

Harry nodded. Since now he knew he was in no danger, Harry began to relax and lean against the solid chest. One of Marvolo's hands was hooked under his knees and the other around his waist. His own hands locked around the man's neck. The heat from the man's hands and their body contact caused Harry to be very conscious of the man. Slightly embarrassed, he looked down and regretted it immediately.

It was until now that Harry took noticed of his clothing; underwear which fit him snugly. That was to say the boxers outlined his certain body parts quite nicely and his legs were exposed all the way up to his upper thighs. The undershirt he was wearing was made from a thin material which left nothing to be guessing. Harry blushed instantly to a cherry red. It was not as though he had never been naked in front of males before. It was unavoidable when you shared a dormitory with 4 guys for 5 years, so why was he blushing like mad now? He could even feel the scorching heat on his cheeks. Just then a thought struck him, 'Am I wearing what I think who it belongs to?' Harry turned even redder.

When Voldemort sensed the boy go stiff in his arms, he looked down curiously and saw the boy blush. The dark lord chuckled inwardly and came to a conclusion: A blushing Harry was a cute sight to be repeated regularly but for his eyes only.

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

A/N (1): I tried to make Dumbledore as evil as I can and I hope the story make sense. *cross fingers*

A/N (2): Lots of hugs to CansIHasYaoi, vampwiz01, Lauressa, Emriel and asil! Your reviews make me sooooo happy, THANK YOU! :3

A/N (3): Does anyone know why the new version of chapter 1 did not show up when I reload it? Just send me a p.m. thanks.


	3. Do bat hunt at daytime?

**Warning**: This is a **slash** fanfic. It means **boy X boy** relationship. If you are offended or not comfortable with it, please choose another story.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter. This story is written purely for fun and not for money.

Drowning a sinking ship

Chapter three – Do bat hunt at daytime?

When Harry opened his eyes, he felt content and fully rested. For the first time since he had been on this bed, he began to appreciate its softness and fluffiness. The blanket wrapped him up in a warm cocoon, making him feel safe and protected. He closed his eyes and decided to just stay in bed for a while.

Unavoidable, events from yesterday steeped into his mind making him frown. Who would have thought that under such a benevolent appearance was a malevolent heart. Dumbledore sure had everyone fooled. He could never trust him again. What about his friends? Could he trust them too? Were they any part of the old man schemes? He needed to be careful if he did return to that school.

Neville… it was so unfortunate for him and his family to get entangled into the mess unnecessary. Harry let out a sigh. Dumbledore had made Neville's life as miserable as his, even though it was indirectly.

Then there were Sirus and Remus as well… he was worried how they would react when he told them the truth, especially Sirius. Knowing his impetuous tendency, would he be able to keep it cool and act out his part when necessary? What about Remus? Was he able to go against Dumbledore when the old man had helped him before by making sure he could attend Hogwarts when he was young and then later financially by employing him as the DADA professor? All reasons aside, he needed to talk to them as soon as possible or they would never forgive him for not including them in the revenge once the truth was revealed.

Severus Snape was another headache. Should he tell Marvolo about him being a spy for the Light? The greasy dungeon bat might be an ass to him but he did not deserve to be killed. He was also been made use of by Dumbledore.

Marvolo… how should he treat the man now? He was no longer an enemy but his mate-to-be, something which he had yet to fully accept but why did it feel so right to be in his arms that he did not think of getting away after he stopped crying yesterday. And then his heart fluttered and he blushed when Marvolo kissed him before he left the bedroom. It was just a peck on the cheeks…

Fed up with all the troubling thoughts, he pushed it aside and prepared for the day. He entered the bathroom to do his morning routine and while he was drying himself after a shower, he found a clean set of clothes placed on a stool which was near to the door. When he closed the bathroom door behind him, he spotted a tray of steamy hot food on the table by the window waiting to be eaten. He sat down and dug in heartedly.

The moment he put down the spoon, Thumbnail popped in. "Master Harry, master lord is waiting for you at the study." The house elf said respectfully.

"Okay and thank you." said Harry. Thumbnail then gave a short bow and popped away together with the tray. Taking a deep breath once, Harry stepped out of the room.

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

The man was sitting regally on the lounge which they occupied yesterday. Confident was radiating from the man, making Harry highly aware of his own awkwardness. The sight of the man had reminded him of the kiss. As though reading his mind, one corner of Marvolo's mouth lifted. Harry pointedly ignored the knowing smirk and sat down in an armchair which was diagonally to the man's seat.

"How are you feeling this morning?" greeted Marvolo the moment Harry settled in his seat. "The potion should wear off by now." There was a hint of concern in his voice while his eyes searched for any discomfort on Harry's face.

"Fine, I still feel a bit stiff but otherwise I feel okay." He shrugged nonchalantly. It was really no big deal now.

"Good." The man concluded, not from the words from the boy but rather from what he observed. He then summoned a slim book from a bookshelf and handed it to Harry, "The book which you requested."

The book had a leather cover with silver wordings on it, 'The Myth and Truth of Vampire' by H.F. Murrell. "Thanks," said Harry softly.

Marvolo acknowledged his thank and started on more important issues. "We need to plan what to do from now." The tone of the man had gone firm and serious.

Harry nodded and waited for the man to continue.

"We need to keep your changing of side and your presence here a secret from my death eaters, at least for now. Therefore it's essential that you stay here in my personal suite which is password protected in parseltongue, no one is able to enter. As long as you do not venture out into the hall, any spies among the death eaters will know nothing."

"Okay," agreed Harry without qualm but the mentioned of spy reminded him of Snape, giving him pause. After weighing the severity of the situation in his mind, he came to a decision. He needed to inform Marvolo about Snape's loyalty, if not, no matter how excellent their plan was, it would be reported back to Dumbledore. "Ermm… Do you know that Severus Snape is a spy for the Light?" said Harry as carefully as possible. He really did not want to be the cause of the dungeon bat's death but this was something needed to be done.

Marvolo narrowed his eyes. "I have been suspecting him for a while now. He is also what I want to talk to you about next." For a while the man looked pensive. "Did you know that he asked me to spare your mother when I targeted your family? He explained that he loved her very much when I demanded a reason from him."

'Snape loved his mother yet treated him like shit? That is so unbelievable!' Without warning, a mental image which involved a certain greasy haired boy and a certain red haired girl popped into his mind which he waved it off quickly. No thank you, he did not want to have a mental scar but the idea of Snape behaving loving and caring sent him into a giggling fit. "I find it hard to picture an I-am-in-love Snape," snickered Harry.

"Indeed it is hard to imagine," chuckled Marvolo before getting serious once again. "I'm guessing your mother's death must have been what caused him to deflect to the Light. He didn't know he had been used by Dumbledore…"

"And if you show Trelawney's memories to him, he will stay firmly on our side and not Dumbledore's." Harry concluded easily.

"Yes, but all this was just my speculation though I'm quite confident it is not far from the truth. We need to make sure of this before letting him view those memories." Marvolo changed his position to a more relax stance. "I have summoned him here later, at 11."

Harry hummed his agreement and the knot in his heart loosened by Marvolo's statement. 'Good to know that it is possible to convert Snape. I refuse to feel bad because of him when he has already made my life as miserable as possible since my first year.'

When the issue on Snape had been temporary settled, another problem popped into Harry's mind. "Dumbledore is bound to find out that you have _abducted_ me when the Order goes to collect me. What excuse should I use when I _escape_ from here when it is time for me to go back to school? I can't stay here permanently, not before the war ends. Dumbledore will definitely try to rescue me. He certainly won't allow any chance for you to _corrupt_ me."

Marvolo smirked at the word 'corrupt'. "I know that but you will not be able to go back on September 1st due to your turning. You need at least three months to adjust to your new body. Also you need to start training now. During your turning, your magical core will grow at least double of what you have now. You need to have some control over your magic before that or it might go out of control. The book here explains in details." Marvolo gestured to the book placed on the table in front of Harry. "As for your excuses… I do have a plan in mind but it needs further adjustment." said Marvolo confidently.

Harry eyed the book and realized that he absolutely knew nothing about vampires except that they were blood sucking dark creatures. Need to learn how to control his magic? Larger magical core? Harry brushed his fingers over the cover of the book while making a mental note to read the book as soon as possible. He was curious to know about what he was going to be.

Before they could discuss any further, knockings could be heard from the door. After a look shared between them, Marvolo hissed out the password and the door slid opened to admit Severus Snape.

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

Severus Snape was in his living quarter at Hogwarts when the dark lord's note arrived. He was ordered to go to see the dark lord in his private study at 11 o'clock today. Normally the dark lord would meet and give orders to the death eaters at the study located on the second floor of the manor, but now he was instructed to go to the dark lord's private study which as far as he knew, no one had been there before. 'Something big must be up,' thought Severus as his spying instinct kicked in. 'Could it be regarding the failed mission of tracking that damn boy?' Snape shook his head in negative. 'There's no way for me to be suspected. I did make sure I covered my back.' Snape gave a deep sigh and mentally prepared himself for the upcoming meeting. It would be no good to lose his focus, especially when you were a spy.

The potion master promptly arrived at the manor five minutes before 11. When he was let into the foyer, a house elf appeared in front of him and guided him to the third floor. When they reached a double wooden door, the house elf gave a short bow and popped away. 'Okay, be calm. Whatever comes, you can deal with it.' Snape took a deep breath, checked his mental shield, squared his shoulders and knocked on the door. Almost instantly, the door slid opened to the side to reveal an elegant room.

If Severus Snape was surprised to see Harry sitting there leisurely without any scratch on him, he did not show it on his face. He wore a blank stony mask which made it difficult to read and walked briskly into the room.

"My lord," greeted Snape with a low bow once he stood in front the dark lord. "May I know why did you summon me?" Never once did he spare a look at Harry.

"Ahh… Severus, you see, someone has accused you of being a spy for the Light. I want to give you to chance to defend yourself," said the dark lord almost amusingly.

"Whoever told you that lied, my lord." answered Snape calmly while he started to panic inside. He stole a glance at Harry from the corner of his eyes, hoping to get any clue to help him to get out of this mess.

Harry gave the potion master an 'innocent' look which literally screamed 'yes I'm the one but what can you do'. Now was a perfect time for a little pay back. Let the man sweated a bit first.

Voldemort's amusing tone took a sudden turn and changed to cold and icy, "Do not lie to me Severussss, you informed Dumbledore and the Order after Potter hinted to you about Sirius Black. You knew that I'm after the prophecy. You could have foreign ignorant." There was a hissing warning note at the end of the man's name.

Severus Snape looked as calm as ever and told a previously well thought out excuse, "I need to do that, my lord, or Dumbledore will suspect me. He knew for certain that I would recognize the nickname of Black, after all Black and I had been school rival for seven years. I have no excuse for not recognizing the name." Snape hoped his explanation worked. The dark lord was an extremely intelligent man; he could not be fooled easily.

"Then explain how the Order knew that I would try to find Potter on his way home. As far as I know, the Order has never escorted Potter home at the end of school year, not even last year when Dumbledore knew that I'm back. You were here that day when I gave the instructions to McNair, Wood and Peterson." The dark lord demanded coldly.

"But my lord, I was in the waiting room the whole time while waiting for my turn to give my report. Your house elf can attest to that, it is impossible for me to eavesdrop." Snape quickly defended himself. "It must be one of them who leaked out the information." The nerve-wracking man tried his best to divert the suspicion away from him. He strengthened his mental shield while his heart was pounding furiously against his chest and he could feel beads of sweat rolling down his back.

"The three of them could not have told anyone because I made them swear an oath on their magic not to mention anything on their mission, not even to each other, once they stepped out of the room. They are still fine and kicking," countered Voldemort emotionlessly, his voice reminded as cold as ice.

Snape turned pale. He did not grasp this info from Peterson when they walked past each other. The time was too short for him to dive deeper into the man's mind. He opened his mouth but no word came out as his frozen mind refused to come up with a valid excuse to get him out of the pit.

Voldemort continued to deliver another blow before Snape could recover his wits, "Perhaps you are unaware of one important fact. As soon as I finished briefing them, they set off immediately to execute their mission. I clearly remember there were only four of you at the manor at that time. If anyone who has the chance to find out I sent them on a mission, it can only be you. You are an accomplish Legilimency master, aren't you?" Now the dark lord voice was hard and ruthless, "It will not be wise to lie further. I remember you have a mother living at Spinner Ends, haven't you?"

The mention of his mother was the last straw that made the already frightened man crumbled. "Please my lord, spare my mother. She is my only living blood left," pled Snape, "She raised and protected me from my abusive father when I was young and I can't let her die because of me."

"Then talk truthfully, or I may change my mind." The dark lord paused for a while to let his words sank in. The man was after all shaking in fear now. "Tell me the reasons why you changed side. Is it because of Lily Potter?"

Knowing that it was the dead end for him, Snape had no choice but to speak the truth. He at least had to save his mother. "I knew Lily since I was six years old. Because of my father's well known horrendous way, no one wanted to be my friends until I met Lily. She was kind and understanding. She never stopped trying to be my friend when I ignored her at first. She comforted me when life pushed me down. I slowly opened my heart to her and came to love her like a sister. She was the only one beside my mother who truly cares about me."

Snape looked at the empty space in front of him while he continued to relate his story. His voice was soft and full of regrets, "When I accidentally called her a mudblood during the sixth year because of the Marauder's _planking_, she never talked to me again… I wanted to apologize but every time she looked at me indifferently… I hesitated. Slowly we drifted apart but I never stopped loving her."

When the man looked at his direction, Harry could see so much emotion in those black eyes. Regrets, sadness, self-loathing, guilt…

"When you, my lord, targeted the Potters, I pleaded with you to spare her. When she died, I was devastated. I regretted my choice of joining the Dark because of it I caused Lily's death. I caused the death of my only sister." An inaudible sniff escaped from Snape. "I wanted to repent for my mistake so I went to Dumbledore. He made me swear to protect Lily's son and to become a spy when necessary."

Snape hang his head and waited for his death to come. He knew the dark lord would never let anyone who betrayed him live. He could only hope that the dark lord would spare his mother like he said. When nothing happened after several long minutes, he raised his head and an unbelievable scene greeted him; the dark lord and Potter were looking at him serenely without any intention of meting out retribution and a pensieve loaded with memories was placed on the table. The dark lord then gestured him to view those memories. He had no choice but to comply.

After spending twenty minutes in the pensieve, Snape emerged. He might look as calm as can be, the opposite of Harry after viewing those memories, but the throbbing at his right temple and the burning fire in his eyes gave him away. It took all his years of Occlumency skill to prevent himself from rushing out of here and slaughtering Dumbledore.

After taking 5 minutes of continuous deep breathing to calm down, the potion master came to a decision. When he did, he looked at the other two persons in the room and said in a determine voice, "I am in." Then he did something unexpected. He took out his wand and announced in a firm voice, "I, Severus Snape, swear upon my magic, I will help Harry James Potter in any way I can on his revenge against Albus Dumbledore."

A band of white lights emitted from the man's wand and coiled around him, sealing the vow and then disappeared.

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

Voldemort spent an hour telling his once again trusted follower what had been happening, but left out the part on Slytherine's journal.

"Is there any professor that can be sway to our cause?" asked the dark lord after he had finished briefing Snape.

Snape spent half a minute to contemplate. Based on what he knew about the Transfiguration professor and the interactions between her and the headmaster, he was quite confident of convincing the strict lady. "It may be possible to sway McGonagall to our side or at least to get her to stay neutral if we show her the memory about Sirius's trial." Snap said slowly. "When Black was captured and to be kissed, she earnestly implored Dumbledore to at least try to get him a fair trial. As the head of Wizengamot, he has the power to call for a special meeting for unusual events, but he declined saying that the matter was out of his hand. She was fuming mad at him for his reluctance. She is the kind of person who lives by a set of strict righteous rules. If she knows about Dumbledore's scheme, he will lose her support."

"She is a powerful witch. Whether she decides to join us or to step aside, it will be an advantage to us," said Voldemort. "Severus, subtly sound her out first. Most likely she can be persuaded to join the Grey."

Both Snape and Harry looked at the dark lord intriguingly. They had never heard of anyone or a group called 'Grey'. It was Harry who asked, "Grey?"

"Grey, or more precisely your side, Harry," answered the dark lord, smirking as he enjoyed making Harry confuse.

"My side?" Now this was even more bizarre. When did he create one?

The dark lord smirked at Harry's slack jaw expression. "Yes, your side, Harry, for those who wish to oppose Dumbledore but not willing to side with the Dark." He then turned to Snape to continue with his instructions, "When you deem McGonagall can be persuaded, show her the memory. You can tell her that after Dumbledore's death, she will be the headmistress and be in charge of the school. As long as she and the rest of the teachers agree to stay neutral, I will not touch Hogwarts."

"Yes, my lord." The potion master inclined his head. "Most likely it will be a success as McGonagall is starting to lose faith in Dumbledore. Last year, he again dismissed her casually when she disagreed to let me teach Potter Occlumency. She felt that since both of us did not get along, the lessons would bring little or no results." With that said, the potion master locked eye with Harry and gave him a glare. Snape might have taken the vow but that did not mean that he had changed his opinion of the boy instantly.

"What can I say? Some people just don't have the talent to teach," murmured Harry while turning his head away from Snape, a small pout on the lower lip. He had enough of Snape insinuating antic.

"And some people are so arrogant that they couldn't follow simple instructions," countered Snape haughtily.

"How is telling me 'close your mind' and then attack with Legilimency is simple instruction when you never showed me how to close my mind," Harry began to get defensive.

"Because you are too lazy to read the book," snapped Snape back.

"What book are you talking about?" Now Harry's voice was getting louder.

"The book I have Dumbledore pass…" Snape stopped abruptly in mid sentence when realization struck him at the mention of Dumbledore. Disgust showed on the man's usually impassive face followed by shaking of his head. The potion master did not know whether to be amazed or to be appalled as he thought about the depth of Dumbledore's manipulation went. Without preparing the mind and constantly attacking it with Legilimency spell would not only cause the person to have severe headaches and having nightmares, it would also open the mind further. In the long run, the mind would even lose whatever natural resistance it had.

Even though Harry might not fully understand the theory behind Occlumency, but the disgust look of Snape and the deep frown on Marvolo let him had a gauge on how severe the situation had been. "Seems like we have more reasons to take out the old coot, haven't we?" Harry smiled humorlessly.

The dark lord cleared his throat to get the others attention. "We shall add that to the list when we confront the old man," said Voldemort with finality. "It's a waste of time to think about it now."

Harry agreed inwardly. Getting railed was pointless and he could spend the time on more important things like Sirius. "Hmm… I think Sirius and Remus can be persuaded to join us too, especially Sirius," said Harry quite confidently. "He spent so many years in Azkaban because of Dumbledore. Remus most probably too, he was really close to mum and he often blamed himself unable to do anything to prevent the death of my parents and the wrongful imprisonment of Sirius." He looked at Marvolo imploringly, "Can we get them both to come here? I wish to tell them myself and if they decide to have nothing to do with it, we can always oblivate them."

Voldemort knew how much the two men meant to Harry. One was as close as a father and the other was an honorable uncle, both were the only family that the boy had. Nodding his agreement, he turned to the potion master, "Has Dumbledore found out Harry has been _missing_ from his home?"

"No. As far as I know, Dumbledore did not call for an emergency meeting," answered Snape.

"Good, since the old man most probably has yet to know of Harry's _missing_, it would be an advantage to us. Is there any way to get both men without arousing suspicious?"

Snape immediately gave his input, "There will be a regular Order meeting next week on Friday. I can use that to get to the mutt and the wolf then."

"That's fine. Be as discrete as possible. We do not need any attention at this moment," instructed Voldemort.

After getting the dark lord's consent, the potion master grinned excitedly inwardly as he thought of a plausible revenge… er… plan to get both men. Snape gave Harry a sideway glance and a devilish smirk, "Should I be thanking you? You just gave me an opportunity to get back at Black." His cold voice could not hide the mirth in it.

Harry rolled his eyes at the dungeon bat. Something just doesn't change.

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts, sat in his office on top of the tower contemplated on one boy-who-live while totally unaware of said boy's 'abduction'. On a side table behind him, a silver instrument connected to the alarm ward of Privet Drive kept puffing smokes, showing that the ward was still in place and undisturbed. His phoenix, Fawkes, sat on its perch sleeping.

The previous school year had been quite eventful. According to his careful planning, the boy had fought the dark lord at the Ministry. Even though it did not have the desire results he wanted, seeing his puppet dancing to his tune was so satisfying. 'But too bad, I missed a good chance to get rid of the boy,' mused the old man.

The fake prophecy that he had supplied to the Department of Mystery many years ago had served him well once again. He could not get rid of the glee that appeared on his face for a long while when he knew Voldemort was after the prophecy.

On one hand, he got the members of the Order to guard the place where the prophecy was. The act itself served as a bait, to give an illusion of how important the thing was to the Light and to get Voldemort to set his mind on obtaining it, just like withholding a piece of juicy meat in front of a hungry dog. The amusing part about the whole affair was that the Order expected him to make that decision!

On the other hand, he had Snape to 'teach' the boy Occlumency so that his mind opened up further and lured Voldemort into taking advantage of it. As it was, it worked. Harry charged head first into the fray.

Snape was another puppet of his. Lent an empathy ear, showed some sympathy and gave some reassurances, you would have a nice loyal puppy that followed your every wish. Snape didn't even know that he had used reverse psychology on him. Just kept reminding him on how the boy was not his father, a fact which the stubborn man refused to see, and the man would be more and more hateful of the boy. Ha! It's so easy. Snape was so busy tormenting the boy that he didn't even notice he was not given the book. He had to surpass his snickers when the potion master came complaining to him about how inept the boy had been.

Now he had to think of a plan so that the fighting would continue at the coming year. He did notice Harry had distanced himself from him. Perhaps it was time to tell him about Voldemort's horcrux, to further cemented the boy firmly on the Light side. But before that, the boy had to continue to stay at the Dursley to let his relatives 'pampered' him for awhile more. He would send Remus to collect him after his birthday…

While he was merrily plotting his next move, an awakening thrill from Fawkes caused him to break his train of thoughts. When he returned to his musing, he somehow had a feeling he had forgotten something important yet could not pinpoint on it.

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

It was a sleepless night for Harry. The events of the day reminded him of how far the old coot was willing to manipulate him to get what he wanted and he was left wondering what schemes the old coot would cook up for the incoming school year. These troubling thoughts persistently kept knocking in his head, making him toss and turn in the bed. Getting frustrated and knowing that he would not be able to fall asleep any time soon, he walked to the library and sat down in front of the fireplace.

When the dark lord was passing the library to check on Harry, he saw the boy curled up like a ball on the couch and stared into the fire with a vacant look in his eyes. He looked so fragile yet so strong at the same time, like he would break with just a touch yet tough enough to fight the world. The contradicting image in front of him stirred an unfamiliar aching sensation in him.

"What are you thinking?" asked Marvolo softly when he sat down beside Harry.

The soothing voice of Marvolo distracted Harry from his brooding. He blinked once and faced the man who was looking at him with concern in his eyes. He gave a small smile that never reached the eye and shrugged his shoulder, "Nothing, just this and that." Harry answered vaguely and turned back to the fire again.

The dark lord knew that the boy was avoiding his question. He let out a small sigh and moved his mate onto his laps. When he lifted the boy's chin, a pair of emerald eyes with hidden pain and worries swirling deeply in them stared back at him. Obviously the old fool's scheme that they had discovered today must have reminded him of the betrayal and made him worry for the future.

"We will make him pay for his crime," promised Marvolo firmly. "He is not worth it for you to be upset."

Harry nodded and a small grateful smile appeared on his lips. He was touched when he saw the concern in those red orbs. He did not answer Marvolo's question because he did not want to bother the man. It was just him brooding on some useless issues yet the man saw right through him and understood what he was thinking.

The trusts and gratitude shining in those mesmerizing green eyes and the smile that graced those kissable lips tugged an unknown string in Marvolo's heart, beckoning him to get closer to the boy. Giving in to his desire, he cupped the boy's head with his right hand to guide him closer and lowered his head. When lips met lips, the unique scent of his mate once again assaulted his sense, seducing him to deepen the kiss. The hesitation of the boy did not deter him. He applied a few suctions on the lower lip and ran his tongue along the seam of the mouth, demanding entrance.

Harry was momentary stunned when Marvolo's lips pressed onto his. Before he could decide how to react, a musky scent of male mixed with hints of fire reached him, giving him a sensation of lightheadedness. When a warm tongue prodded at the entrance of his mouth, his lips parted automatically.

The moment the boy parted his lips, Marvolo pushed his tongue inside and sought out the promised treasure for the first time. Slowly, sensuously, he mapped out every curve and every crevice possessively, branding his touch onto the boy's memory and silently claiming this warm cavern his territory. The boy in his arms moaned when he stroked the roof of his mouth. The boy fisted the back of his robe when he engaged their tongues to a battle and the boy whimpered when he sucked onto the delicious tongue. With each lovely sounds emitted from the boy, he tightened his hold on him until there were no more gaps between them.

Harry was floating in a sea of pleasure and passion. Were all kisses supposed to be like this? With each stroke and each caress of Marvolo, the tempo of his heart quickened but at the same time the insecurities in his heart receded a little by a little until he could only think of responding to this man who was kissing him so lovingly. He was unaware of the sounds he had made or how he had put his arms around the man's waist in order to get closer. He could only feel himself melt and gradually becoming a puddle of goo in the man's arms.

Marvolo pulled away reluctantly when the need for air could not be ignored any longer. The look that greeted him called upon both his human and vampire side. Passion filled half lidded eyes combined with kiss-swollen red lips made him groan inwardly and edging the vampire in him to claim the boy as his mate at this instance. Resisting the temptation, he tucked the boy's head under his chin and cuddled him against his chest.

Harry closed his eyes when he was made to lie against the warm solid chest and waited for his furious heartbeat to return to normal. The arms that encircled protectively around him were like a shield that promised to keep him safe. 'Is this how it feels to be loved?' though Harry as he snuggled closer to the man. Slowly, the regular beatings of the heart under his ears lured him to sleep. The last thought before he fell asleep was that maybe he was falling in l…

After long minutes of silence, Marvolo looked down and saw the boy had fallen asleep. An unusual warm appeared in his eyes at the peaceful look of the sleeping boy. "My mate," whispered Marvolo gently, placing a soft kiss at Harry's temple. As lightly as he could so that he would not wake his mate, he stood up and carried him to bed.

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

Severus Snape sat in his favorite chair with a glass of firewhiskey in his right hand and going over the events that had happened in the day. He had busied himself in his private lab the moment he came back until now which was after dinner. Working in the lab always had a therapeutic calming effect on him and he needed to clear his mind before he could think straight.

He had a feeling that the dark lord had withheld something from him. All his years of spying experience told him so. There must be something else other than those rare treasures in the Gryffindor vault that made Dumbledore plot patiently for over 10 years. He decided to leave it aside since he could not prove it, even if there really were some hidden secrets, the dark lord must have a good reason not to reveal it.

Dumbledore… so the man wanted fame and riches huh? Well, he was going to make sure he would humiliate him utterly before he died. An Avada Kedavra was too painless for him. How dare he scheme the death of Lily! How dare him to make use of him to cause the death of Lily. He wanted him to be a spy? Sure, he would be a spy but not for him any longer.

Po… Harry, a boy who he had treated unfairly since his first year, might not be what he assumed to be. From the memories he had seen many hours ago and some of the memory flashes from the Occlumency lessons, Harry might not have a luxurious life. 'Yah, assume make an ass out of you and me.' Snape smiled bitterly. It was time to throw his prejudices away and judge the boy as himself and not based on his father.

Now he had an important goal to meet and a revenge to take. The potion master smirked. He definitely anticipated the unfolding of hell and fire.

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

A/N (1): I have a hard time writing their first kiss, I spent at least 5 days amending it and still not quite satisfied with it… maybe I should write lime only… no lemon… urgggg! Funny enough, the evil bumblebee's plotting part is the easiest part to write… duh…

A/N (2): To all who have added me either to favorite or story alert, **THANK YOU!** You all have made me the happiest fish on earth *giving out hugs to each and everyone* Now I shall slog as repayment… lol

**CansIHasYaoi**: Emm… I can only picture Harry as the submissive when I wrote this story, so… yah… I mean it's kind of hard to picture Voldemort as the submissive right? *sheepish grin*

**Allanah-x**: I think I get it already, thanks for your help anyway. :P


	4. Dudley the super pig?

**Warning**: This is a **slash** fanfic. It means **boy X boy** relationship. If you are offended or not comfortable with it, please choose another story.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter. This story is written purely for fun and not for money.

Drowning a sinking ship

Chapter four – Dudley the super… pig?

A surprise in the form of Hedwig disturbed the peaceful afternoon.

Harry, who was facing the window, was the first to notice the arrival of the owl. Without any hesitation, he went to open the window so that it could enter.

The moment Hedwig perched onto his arm, it hooted happily at him. "I'm happy to see you too girl!" laughed Harry happily. After giving him another joyful hoot, Hedwig stuck out her leg to get him to unload her burden.

Marvolo was watching the owl with narrow eyes, as though trying to dissect it. Of course he did not mean to do that literally, it was just that he could not solve the puzzle of why this particular bird was able to bypass the anti-owl ward which surrounded the manor. He had personally casted that ward himself! Where did he do wrong? While he was busy going through theories after theories in his head, Hedwig suddenly flew to his shoulder catching him unaware. As he eyed the owl warily, he could swear there was amusement in its eyes. The bloody bird was laughing at him!

Harry had to muffle his laughter when he saw the hilarious scene of the most feared dark lord in a staring contest with his owl. Covering his mouth using his left hand, he opened the letter with the other.

Dear Harry,

How are you? I hope your relatives are treating you right. I'm staying with Padfoot at you know where. Do not worry about us, we're fine.

Dumbledore has instructed me to fetch you the day after your birthday. I know that you would like to leave that house earlier but the headmaster has reasons not to do so. I'm sorry that I can't give you any information here because this letter may get intercept. I promise we will talk when you arrive here.

I look forward in seeing you soon. Oh before I forget, I'll be coming in the morning at 9.

Love,

Moony.

p.s. Hedwig came here when I was just about to send this letter. She is too clever.

"Well, seems like we will be facing some problem when you go to Gringott to claim your inheritance," commented Marvolo when he finished reading the letter which Harry passed to him.

Oh yes, he had nearly forgotten that. Even though he had not yet reached 17, an age when a wizard became an adult, he was legally able to claim the vault after his sixteenth birthday because of his vampire status. "You're right! They will definitely be searching Diagon Alley when Remus found that I'm gone. It will be hard for me to be undetected."

Marvolo gave him a reassuring smile, "I suppose we can go there under glamour. None will recognize you, as long as you don't give yourself away."

"And we can go in early morning, before the time Remus goes to pick me up," added Harry with a lopsided grin.

"Yes, that will work nicely. But we still need to be careful when we leave the bank, even though we have glamour to hide our identity." Marvolo looked thoughtful for a moment, "I'll think of something else."

"Okay," agreed Harry and was left wondering what additional plan Marvolo would come up with.

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

After Marvolo left to attend to his dark lord's business, Harry decided to read the book given to him on vampire. Unconsciously, his feet brought him to his favorite room in the suite; the library.

The library in Marvolo's private suite was an amazing place. All sides of the walls of the room, excluding the part where the fireplace was, were lined with bookshelves that ran from the floor all the way up to the ceiling. Tall ladders, which could be easily slid along the length of the shelves, were there to assist anyone to reach each and every book.

As far as Harry could see, the well organized library was filled with all sort of books ranging from topics like Potion, Charm, and Transfiguration to Dark art, magical creatures, journals and so much more. From his brief inspection, he came across a few books which did not have a title and some of them were so old that he suspected they might be well over two hundred years.

The place might be packed with books but it did not give a forbidden feeling which made you lowered your voice automatically and lightened your footsteps like normal library usually did. Instead it was cozy and welcoming. Most likely due to the couch that looked so inviting that it made you wanted to snuggle in it and laze around or the fact that there was no librarian that would follow every move of yours like a hawk.

Harry lounged in the couch with the book opened in his hands. Periodically, the sound of turning pages accompanied the cracking of burning logs in the fire. The interesting facts and information in the book held Harry's total concentration. If a herd of hippogriff was to storm by, most probably he would not hear them at all. Occasionally, the expression on his face would change from serious to fascinating to awe and from embarrass to longing.

… _Vampires are feared by many because of their notorious reputation of drinking blood from their victims and them dying from blood lost. However, not all types of vampire require blood from human, a fact which is generally unknown to many…_

… _Blood of a vampire carries vampire virus, a case similar to the werewolf lycanthropy. It is the virus that gives a vampire its inhuman abilities. The power level and what kind of abilities a vampire acquire depends on how well the vampire blood is in tune with its turned body…_

… _There are two ways to create a vampire. The first method, which is the commonly known method, is by biting. The vampire has to first drain the blood of the human and then feed him with its vampire blood. The vampire virus in the blood causes the body to undergo changes and be turned. Draining of blood is a must as human blood slows the process of turning which causes additional amount of pain. The second method is a natural turning process which occurs on the sixteenth birthday of a wizard who is born with vampire genes…_

… _There are three classes of Vampire: Vampry, Vampress and Vamperor (in ascending order of ability and power)… _

… _As mentioned before, the power of a vampire depends on how well the vampire blood, or more accurately the virus, works hand in hand with its turned body. A muggle or a wizard, who does not have the vampire genes, never has the criteria which enable the body to change in such a way to complement the vampire blood during the turning process. The result is a vampire with weaknesses, little abilities and less powerful…_

… _Vampry is created when a muggle is turned. Because its turned body is not fully adapted to the vampire blood, it is incapable of carrying the vampire blood without harm. A Vampry needs human blood to sustain its turned body in order to overcome this weakness. In some rare cases when a Vampry goes without feeding blood for a long period of time, the vampire virus will trigger the vampry to go into a berserk state which is known as a bloodthirst attack. It is a mechanical respond by the virus for survival. Vampry abilities are limited and least powerful among all other classes of vampire. Due to its poorly turned body, it is unable to survive under direct sunlight. The moment it comes into contact with sunlight, its body will begin to disintegrate. For the same reason, its turned body is unable to process food other than blood…_

'No chocolate, no cheese, no chicken pie and none of your favorite food? No way, that was a disaster. And what was worse, not able to walk under the sun?' A mental image of a vampire literally turning to ash and crumbled sent a shiver through Harry. Quickly waving off the gruesome image, his mind's path switched to another track. 'Hmm… I didn't know that vampire is similar to werewolf in that way. I should be grateful that I won't be suffering from transforming every full moon.' The memory of Remus's transformation was still as vivid as that day.

… _In the case when the turning involves a wizard, then a Vampress is the result. During the turning process, the magical core in the wizard harness the body to be more harmonized with the vampire blood. Since the turned body is more suited for the vampire blood, it needs less human blood. Usually Vampress feeds once every 4 to 5 days. For the same reason, Vampress has more abilities and is more powerful than Vampry. Besides having abilities like enhance strength, agility, sight, touch and hearing which Vampry has, Vampress is able to shadow walk and has fast healing ability. They are able to eat normal food and walk under the sun, though they prefer the night…_

… _Vamperor is the most powerful and is considered the nobility among the vampires. They are from wizards who are born with vampire genes. Usually they are born as a human and the turning occurs when they reach their sixteenth birthday. Once the time has come, the vampire genes guide the changing process to make sure the body is turned correctly. In addition, the body is fundamentally prepared for the turning so the process is less painful and takes a shorter time. It is interesting to note that not all wizard that carry vampire genes turned. The reason to that reminded unknown though some researchers believed that it has to do with blood line. As their turned body is fully in tune with the vampire blood, the vampire virus is at its full potential which results to a very powerful vampire. The magical core of Vamperor grows during the turning until it is large enough to support its acquired powerful abilities…_

'Oh, so this was what Marvolo was talking about.' Harry nibbled on his lower lip thoughtfully. 'I wonder how Marvolo is going to train me. They didn't say anything about that here…'

… _An interesting fact about the Vamperor is that they have normal body temperature and heart rate. A trait that is different from Vampry and Vampress which have lower body temperature and heart rate. As it is, it is quite difficult to distinguish it from a human. As long as the Vamperor hides it fangs, it is hard to tell the difference…_

'Hey, no wonder Marvolo looks so… human. If he never told me, I would never guess he is a vampire,' mused Harry before he realized that he too could easily hide the fact that he was a vampire from everyone back in school. Hiding certain truth had many great advantages especially when you could surprise your enemy.

… _Vamperor does not need human blood to survive. They seldom take blood from other living beings except their mate. The exchange of blood usually takes place between mates during bonding or mating. It is a form of showing affection and letting the dominant to lay claim to its submissive…_

… _Vamperor is the only class of vampire which has a destined mate. Usually the mate of a vamperor can only be another vamperor, but there are a handful of known cases where the mate is a wizard. A mate bond exists between the destined pair. A dominant Vamperor will search out its mate through the bond after its turning. If the submissive has not yet turned, there will be no tugging of the bond…_

… _A mental mind link forms when a pair of vamperor mates completed their bonding. In the case where the mate is a wizard, there will be no such link…_

… _Because of the existence of the mate bond, even before the finalization of the bond, when one of the mates dies, the other will gradually wasted away…_

So… this was the real reason why the old coot tricked Marvolo to attack his family. It did not matter who died in that confrontation, ultimately it would result to the death of the other mate; whichever outcome would be beneficiary to the old man. The more Harry learnt about the evil doing of Dumbledore, the more he wished to just storm to Hogwarts and kill the man and be done with. 'Shit!' Harry raged silently before he could gradually calm down and return to his reading.

… _A submissive Vamperor is able to conceive, regardless of the submissive's gender. However the chances of conceiving are highly unlikely. Little is known on the pregnancy of a Vamperor. It is believe that there are less than fifty Vamperor…_

Conceive? Pregnant? The thought of making a child inadvertently caused Harry to blush instantly. He buried his redden face in the book and groaned, 'What am I thinking? This is too… urggg…' Even as he struggled to fight off the embarrassment, the idea of him carrying a child did not freak him out and his hand involuntarily moved to place onto his stomach. In fact, the idea of carrying Marvolo's and his child let him had a sense of fulfillment and a feeling of completeness.

He could have had a family.

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

By the time Marvolo joined him for dinner, Harry had almost finished reading the book.

While they were enjoying their meals, Marvolo's line of sight fell onto the book placed next to Harry's hand. "Have you finished reading the book?"

"Almost, I still left a couple of chapters to go." The doubt Harry had while reading the book was brought to his fore mind by that question. "Marvolo, the reason Dumbledore wanted you to attack me and my family was because we are mate, wasn't it?" It was a statement more than a question. "No matter which one of us dies, the other will eventually too."

"Yes, he is as sly as a snake. Sometimes I wonder did the sorting hat put him in the wrong house. It should have put him in Sytherin instead of Gryffindor."

"And smear the good name of Sytherin?" Harry gave a cheeky lopsided grin. "Imagine that, the leader of the Light was a Sytherin."

Marvolo chuckled lightly in respond.

"Umm… I was thinking, since Dumbledore is from Gryffindor line, then it means he already has the vampire genes in him. He has the potential to become a powerful vampire. He can just get a vampire to turn him and he will live forever." Harry tilted his head to the side with an I-do-not-understand expression. "Isn't immortality what he wants?"

"Immortality of a vampire is of no guarantee. There are many ways to kill a vampire. Can a vampire live without its head? Can a vampire survive without its heart?"

"Okay…" He nodded his head slowly.

"There are other undesirable effects too if he choose that method of immortality. Dumbledore may have the genes, but it is dormant. It will not be awakened and therefore his body will never be fully compatible for the vampire blood. Most likely he will be more powerful than a Vampress but never than a Vamperor," explained Marvolo patiently. "Do you think for someone as ambitious as Dumbledore will want to be a less powerful vampire than us? Moreover, do you think he is willing to be dependent on blood? Having a weakness?"

"I see," Harry hummed thoughtfully before he remember something else, "Do you think I can hide the fact that I'm a vampire when I go back to school? Madam Pomfrey is sure to give me a medical checkup by the order of Dumbledore."

"That can be easily done. I can get Severus to brew the conceal potion that hides your vampire trait from any medical scan." Marvolo solved the problem easily. "Enough about that crack pot, let's finished our dinner and we will be going out."

"Going out? Where?" Marvolo had certainly sparked his curiosity.

"Your relatives' house, I'm sure by now they should all be at home."

"Huh? Why are we going there?" Harry was confused by the man's words. "I don't want to have anything to do with them." The sinister smirk that suddenly shot his way startled him a bit, "Are you going to kill them?" He looked suspiciously at Marvolo. Not that he cared about the Dursley; it was just that it might be better not to do anything that could catch the attention of one certain headmaster.

"No, I plan to _persuade_ them to move house before the Order notices that you are missing. I want to confuse them into thinking that the Dursley has moved when they go to collect you. They will be spending time looking for the new home in order to locate you. In that way, we get to have more freedom when we go to Gringott for your inheritance." Marvolo's smile was way too innocent to mean just 'persuade' and his voice was full of smugness when he continued, "Won't it be fun when we can be creative in our _persuasion_?"

Harry rolled his eyes but could not deny the fact that what the man said was a smart move. The day when he was legally able to claim his inheritance was also the day the Order would go collect him. So if they were to search in the muggle world instead of the wizarding world on that day, it would give them an extra safety precaution. It was a good diversion tactic to aid their original plan of using glamour to hide his identity. It might even take them a few days before they came to the correct conclusion because it was never easy for wizard to search for a person in the muggle world.

Of course, Dumbledore might see through their plan but it was always never enough to be extra careful right?

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

Marvolo apparated both of them to the same dark alley when he came for Harry a few days back.

"Urgg… I hate apparition," murmured Harry while he tried to fight the queasy feeling in his stomach. His hand leeched onto Marvolo's to steady himself from dropping to the floor.

Noticing the distress look on his mate, Marvolo began to rub soothing circles on his back. "It's my first time seeing someone who has such a huge reaction to apparition," commented Marvolo in a light teasing manner. The inaudible grumbles that followed his statement made him chuckled. Taking advantage of Harry's momentary inattentiveness, he cupped his mate's face in between his hands and kissed him.

Harry only hesitated for a second before he responded to the kiss. Before he knew it, his discomfort and his nerves for the oncoming meeting got thrown out of his mind.

Marvolo's mouth curled into a satisfied smile when he saw the dazed look and rosy cheeks on Harry's face. Turning his attention towards their target tonight, he studied the ward surrounding the house thoroughly. Nothing had changed. All the wards remained gone except the alarm ward which he left untouched. Satisfied with the situation, he handed Harry a piece of parchment, "The written rune will deactivate the alarm ward. It is better for you to enter first. I'll be right behind."

Harry hummed his agreement and put the parchment into his pocket before heading towards house #4. By the time he reached the door, he finally managed to will his blush away.

'What are you doing here again?' was the loud and rude greeting his uncle gave him the moment he opened the door.

Before Harry could snap back a retort, Marvolo appeared behind him and pointed his wand at his uncle and gestured him to step back into the house.

Vernon's red angry face rapidly turned pale. He gulped and walked backward to the living room, his eyes never left the wand which was pointing at his chest. Even though the three of them remained silent, the tension coming from Vernon alerted his wife and son. Both leapt from the sofa and cowed behind him when they recognized the dangerous man who had attacked them previously in their home. The cowering group flinched and shook in fear when the dark lord sneered at them.

Vernon's anger returned when the dark lord put his wand away. He puffed his chest out in a pathetic attempt to look intimidating and barked out his demand, "Boy! What is this? Get this man out of here."

Harry pointedly ignored his uncle and turned to Marvolo, "I'm going to get some of my stuffs." With that said, he then walked up the stairs to his room.

The way Harry dismissed his uncle made him even madder. He shouted after him, "Boy! Get this man…"

Before he could finish his sentence, Voldemort's wand instantly reappeared in his hand and before the next second was up, soundproof ward was casted around the room followed by a _crucio_ aimed at the fat man.

Ah… music to his ears. The fat ass fell onto the ground immediately followed by strings of screaming. Both the fat boy and the woman tried to hold down the man while he twitched and twisted as spasms racked through his whole body. After 15 seconds, the dark lord lifted the spell. "You have no place to make any demand, you worthless piece of shit." stated the dark lord coldly. "Perhaps this will teach you to know your position." With a lazy flick of his wand, he sent another _crucio_ at the fat ass. Umm… nice melody…

Several long minutes after her husband had stopped screaming, Petunia gathered her courage and tried a softer approach, "What do you want? The old man with long beard said that… said you _lot_ cannot harm us. Your… your _police_ will arrest you."

"Listen well you filthy muggles," he glared at them without mercy, "I'm Lord Voldemort, the wizarding laws do not apply on me and I do not care about your pathetic life." Malicious glint flashed in his red eyes.

Petunia flinched backwards and whimpers escaped from her while Vernon lay helplessly against his wife catching his breath and unable to move. The three Dursleys bundled together as close as possible with ashen face.

This was the pitiful sight of his relatives that Harry witnessed when he returned with his trunk. His mouth formed a satisfied lopsided grin before walking over to stand beside Marvolo.

"I want you to move house within one week." The dark lord glared at the Dursleys until they nodded their head terrifyingly. "I will know if you do as I said or not. Do not test my patience." Suddenly he looked at Dudley and then turned to Harry with a devilish smirk, "What's your favorite animal?"

Harry smirked back when he realized what Marvolo was trying to do. "Pink piggy pig, complete with a pink bow." answered Harry with mirth.

Without hesitation, a quick flick of the dark lord's wand turned Dudley into a pinkish pig with a cute pouty snout.

Petunia immediately shrieked while her husband was so shocked that he could only stare dumbly at the pig… his son.

'Damn! I don't have a camera with me,' thought Harry wistfully, 'I could have taken a photo and have a good laugh whenever I look at it.'

"This is to remind you of my orders, in case you think I'm joking. Your… son will turn back to human once you move within a week. Longer than that, he will remain forever as a pig. Try asking for help, he will remain forever as a pig. Talk to anyone about this, he will remain forever as a pig." His warning and threats clearly expressed in his statement. After the two adults nodded with fearful expression on their face, the dark lord conjured a long pink ribbon and handed it to Harry.

Harry grinned happily at Marvolo before approaching the pig.

With the transformation, the once formidable Dudley the bully was reduced to a dim witted pig. But no matter how stupid one had become, when someone tried to tie you up, you would automatically struggle and so that was what Dudley the pig was doing. It tried to scram behind his mother when it saw the approaching ribbon.

"Please hold him… it still." Harry requested sweetly and politely with a bright smile.

Feeling the warning glare shooting at her from the dangerous man, Petunia bit her tongue to prevent herself from snapping at her nephew and held the pig… her son steady.

Harry whistled a song happily and took his time tying a big bow round the pig's neck. "There, nice pretty piggy." He giggled with childlike delight. His aunt's lips were pressed so thin that he wondered they might forever stay that way and his uncle was in such a nice shade of purple and red that it looked like he was having a stroke.

Marvolo chuckled as he watched Harry and when he walked back to his side, he took down the ward and wiped off any trace of magic residue from his spells. He then took hold of his mate and apparated both of them back to the manor.

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

The excitement gotten from their adventure had made Harry unable to sit still. He was smiling ear to ear whenever he thought about Dudley while pacing around the room in circles. Occasionally, words like 'pink', 'ribbon' and 'pig' could be heard from him followed by giggles. Now he was on his fourth or was it fifth round…

Chuckling at his mate's exuberant antic, Marvolo stuck out his hands and pulled him onto his laps when Harry strolled pass him. "Enough of your pacing, you're making my head spin by watching you." commanded Marvolo in a voice full of amusement.

"But it was sooooo funny," laughed Harry. "But too bad I didn't bring a camera to capture that moment." He said with mock regrets and then followed by a few chuckles.

The whole affair of threatening the Dursley might look like a clever plan to aid them later, but Harry knew deep inside his heart that the main purpose for the visit was to extract revenge on his behalf. Even without this, they still could have easily carried out their business without any mishap because the glamour trick was more than enough. This man really cared about him. He leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on his cheeks, "Thank you." He whispered and looked at Marvolo gratefully.

"You're welcome, my mate." An unusual warm appeared in his eyes.

Harry's cheeks reddened when Marvolo called him his mate and the color deepened when he recognized the possessiveness and love in those eyes. Embarrassed, he ducked his head to escape the intensity of those red orbs and at the same time a pleasant warm feeling spread through him.

Marvolo leaned forward and kissed his mate on his forehead before gathering him into his arms. After long minutes of comfortable silence, he decided to tell Harry what he had planned for his training, "Tomorrow we shall start your training with meditation lesson. Meditation helps you to master wandless magic and the process of learning wandless magic is also the training of controlling your magic."

A soft 'okay' was heard before Harry suddenly sat up straighter. "I need to learn Occlumency too or Dumbledore will be able to extract our secrets right from my head." His eye widened and then added, "Sirius and Remus too, when they join us."

"There's no need for you to learn Occlumency because vampire is a natural occlument, so is werewolf. As for Black, he must have learnt it because he was an auror. All aurors are required to be proficient in the art."

"Oh." Marvolo statement released the tension which Harry didn't know he had. He gave a small relief smile and snuggled back into Marvolo's arms.

Well, he had one less worry now.

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

A/N (1): How I come up with the name of different class of vampire: Vampire + ordina**ry **= Vampry; Vampire + Emp**ress **= Vampress; Vampire + Emp**eror **= Vamperor

A/N (2): I have so much fun writing Dudley turn pig part, the idea was last minutes added in 'cos plot bunny hop by suddenly and refuse to let go of my script :3

**harryfan160889**: I hope this chapter answered your question. Mpreg will most probably happen at… the epilogue? I didn't like the idea of Harry being a father (or mother? lol) when he is still so young. After all they have a very very very long life.

**HerebTheLostRaven**: Emm… glad you are not put off by my lousy English *blush* I taught myself the language, so… *too embarrass and hide herself under the bed* and I don't have someone to check for me… *cough cough* :3


	5. What belongs to me, belongs to me

**Warning**: This is a **slash** fanfic. It means **boy X boy** relationship. If you are offended or not comfortable with it, please choose another story.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter. This story is written purely for fun and not for money.

**Beta**: Chocolate Wolf

Drowning a sinking ship

Chapter five – What belongs to me, belongs to me.

Living at Sytherin manor had been… good. No sneering aimed at you, no endless list of chores, no people bossing you around, no hateful people parading in front of you making your life miserable and more importantly, no more starving. He got to eat three hearty meals everyday plus many light snacks in between.

Thumbnail would always pop in with food whenever he felt hungry. Even though he had never told the little creature his favorites, the little elf would bring him the food that he loved best. Not only that, the house elf took care of his other basic needs and fussed over him. Yup, life was definitely better here.

The bedroom that he slept in was at the innermost. It was connected to the library and then to the study. Another door in the study led to the outside hall and a third door led to a small potions lab and further in was a training room.

Since they had decided to keep his presence a secret, he could not step out of the suite. Even though he was confined, he did not feel uncomfortable or constrained. In fact he never felt so relaxed in his life. Every morning he would wake up naturally and then take a nice long bath. After he had dressed for the day, Thumbnail would pop in with his breakfast. After the meal, he would then be in the library reading or doing his summer homework.

Sometimes Marvolo would join him for lunch and after that he would resume his previous work or be in the potion lab. He had found a few books in the library which taught him the basics of potions brewing, something which Snape failed to mention in class. These books taught him more than what Snape did and he began to see the beauty of the subject. Since then, he had been spending time in the lab brewing, starting from his first year text book and gradually moving up.

Of course, he did not forget about his meditation. Without fail, he would spend at least one and a half hours on it every day. At first he found it hard to do what Marvolo taught him; nonsensical thoughts would keep turning up when he tried to focus on a single thought like Marvolo instructed. It took him two days to get the background noise to slowly fade away and his mind cleared. It took him another five days before he managed to attain a light tranquil state of mind after an hour of meditation. Marvolo commented that he was doing well but not quite there yet. He had to go deeper into his mind, to a deep trance-like state where he could reach his magical core in order to have a direct connection with it. Marvolo described to him what a magical core looked like and he was so looking forward to 'seeing' his.

Marvolo made it a point to join him for dinner unless he had Death Eater meetings or other important things to see to. After dinner, they would spend time together in the library playing chess, reading or just simply talking.

Marvolo was not what he imagined. He gradually came to know more about him through their long hours of conversation. They talked about almost everything; their childhoods, their ideas and their ambition. Marvolo was the kind of person who knew what he wanted and was determined to get it. Marvolo was patient too. Whenever Harry asked him questions regarding his summer assignments, Marvolo would explain the theory in an easy to understand way until he grasped the concept. Harry had secretly conferred the title of 'my personal walking encyclopedia' on him. The more time he spent with the man, the more he was amazed by him.

Harry did not just feel amazed by the man, he was attracted to him. He might be quite oblivious to the affairs of the heart but he was not stupid enough to fail to recognize he was falling in love. Flustered, nervous, fluttering heart—all because of one man. Sometimes he would feel so embarrassed that he wanted to get away yet yearned to be with the man when he was gone.

Marvolo did no help the matter either. It seemed that the man was determined to make him blush as much as possible. When they were together, he would find himself sitting across Marvolo's lap most of the time. The man would hold his hands or put his arms across his shoulders or around his waist or—kiss him. It was not that he did not like the attention Marvolo showered on him. In fact he quite liked it—okay—a lot. It felt so right to be in his arms, to be held by him, like he belonged there. It was like rain was supposed to fall, flowers were supposed to bloom, fish were supposed to swim and he was supposed to be with Marvolo.

Sometimes he wondered if it was the mate bond that made him feel this way. Was he attracted to the man due to the mate bond? He never knew he was gay. The only kiss he had ever shared with girls was with Cho. Did he enjoy that kiss? No, not really. The girl was crying at that time and he was feeling—erm—quite guilty of dating her when Cedric had just died not too long ago.

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

Harry was in a deep trance-like state when Marvolo entered the library. As lightly as possible so as to not to disturb him, Marvolo sat quietly at the side and studied Harry's profile.

Unconsciously, he lips curled into a warm smile. This boy, who used to cause him headaches at every turn of his plans, was his. This boy, the one who he had hated and cursed wholeheartedly for 14 long years, the one who he would crush without any hesitation, turned out to be his mate. Now he could not even think of hurting a single hair on him. What kind of irony was this? The thought of anyone touching the boy would send him into a frenzied state. He would kill anyone who dared to look at his mate in the wrong way. Marvolo sighed inwardly. He had become a crazed, possessive protector when it came to his mate, not that he would ever admit it aloud.

When Harry opened his eyes, he was surprised to see Marvolo sitting nearby. He did not hear him entering the room. "When did you come in? I didn't hear a sound."

"I came in a little while ago. It seems that your meditation is going well. You have managed to enter a deep trance where you are not disturbed by outside influence." Marvolo was quite proud of his mate's accomplishment. Not many could achieve the same result Harry had in such a short time. "Starting from tomorrow, I want you to try to feel your magic, follow its path and go deeper into yourself. It's time to locate your magical core but do not force it. It is impossible to get it in the first try." He warned cautiously.

"Okay." Harry agreed easily, like an obedient student.

Satisfied with his mate's compliance, Marvolo took a small package out from his robe's pocket and handed it to him. "Open it."

Harry was curious. It was a wooden box which was roughly three inches wide on each side. When he slid open the cover and peeked inside, he laughed. Of all things Marvolo could have given him, it was a silver pendant in the shape of a pig attached to a long silver chain. On a closer inspection, Harry realized that the pendant was crafted in great details, especially the bow on top of the pig's head.

With a corner of his mouth lifted slightly, Marvolo reached over for the silver chain and put it on Harry, making sure that it was tucked under his shirt. "The pendant serves two purposes: it is a portkey and a glamour key. I used parseltongue to carve the runes which I invented inside the pendant. It will let you bypass anti-portkey wards, even when you are inside Hogwarts, and bring you right to me when you say 'vamperor mate'. To activate or deactivate the glamour, just say 'glamour me on' or 'glamour me off'. All passwords are in parseltongue. It needs to be in contact with you in order to work so wear it under your shirt. I have spelled it to be unbreakable and cannot be removed by any others except me and you."

"Thanks, does that means I can walk around the manor now?" asked Harry hopefully. Not that he was dissatisfied with anything. It was just that to be able to bask under the sun or breathe in cold night air was a nice change, especially when you had been staying indoors for nearly two weeks.

"Yes, but only when I accompany you." Marvolo said seriously. "I have trained my followers well." There was hint of pride in his voice. "They will not take it lightly when they see new faces strolling around the manor without the company of a Death Eater."

Harry's face brightened instantly. He jumped from his seat and hissed out the password eagerly, "_Glamour me on_." Instantly a five foot eight young man in his twenties with wavy brown hair, icy blue eyes and a chubby face stood there. Without stopping, he then dragged Marvolo towards the door. "Sure, let's go then."

It was Marvolo's turn to be amused.

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

The garden of the Sytherin manor was a beautiful place, like a hidden fairyland. Thick, tall trees growing along the boundary of the garden, rows of bushes and shrubs lined the pathways and sweet scents of blooming flowers filled the air. Unconsciously, Harry had been inhaling deeply while walking along the path until he saw the magnificent fountain which was at the center of the garden.

"Wow!" His wide open eyes were shining with awe. Never before had Harry seen such an odd but fascinating fountain sculpture. It was made up of snakes, countless snakes, snakes in different expressions, snakes in different shapes and sizes—

"Amazing isn't it? Sytherin designed this manor himself. Many had known him as an accomplished potions master but few knew that he was also gifted in the arts." Pride shone in Marvolo's eyes.

Harry turned his wide open eyes to him.

"He was gifted in painting too. There are many of his art pieces here in the manor." Amusement replaced the pride in his eyes at Harry's disbelieving expression. "There's quite a collection of paintings in the Sytherin vault too."

Shaking his head, a slightly bewildered Harry sat down onto a stone bench beside the fountain. Who would have thought Salazar Sytherin had such an unknown side. Words like 'art' and 'Salazar Sytherin' surely never fell in the same sentence right? It was wholly unexpected.

Harry did not spend much time on that topic. The rhythmic splashing sound of the water, the tranquil atmosphere and the exquisite scenery had a calming effect and soon a peaceful feeling settled in him.

"Marvolo—can I ask you something?" asked Harry hesitantly out of nowhere. "You don't have to answer if you don't want." He quickly assured the man, chewing on his lips nervously.

Marvolo, sitting beside him, lifted an eyebrow, "Yes?"

"How—why—I mean you looked different from before—" Harry groaned inwardly and ducked his head. He could have phrased his question better.

"What you saw was a temporary—vessel. One of the abilities of vamperor is healing and regenerating. Once I have a body, my magical core started the regenerating process. Slowly, bit by bit, the temporary body was replaced to what you see now. The whole process takes four months. I apply glamour to look like that whenever I go for a raid."

"Uh hmm—" Harry turned to watch the dancing water of the fountain. His cheeks were tinted slightly red from embarrassment and he felt like banging his head on the wall. He regretted asking such a rude question. He really should have finished reading that book that was given to him.

The man turned his face around and looked into his eyes. "You can ask me anything. If I don't want to or can't answer you, I will tell you so."

Harry relaxed at the honesty displayed in those red orbs. It was good to know he could trust Marvolo not to lie to him. Before he knew it, another question rushed out from his mouth. "Can you show me your vampire form?" The red tint on his cheeks darkened immediately. 'Oh—me and my big mouth.' Although he chastened himself inwardly, he was truly very curious to see it.

Nodding with a chuckle, Marvolo's hands left his face to cast privacy ward around them.

For a second, nothing seemed to have changed and then there were two ends of a pair of sharp pointed fangs protruded from the either corners of his mouth. The shade of his eyes turned darker, like two blood-red rubies, gleaming with a mix of dangerous and predatory glints. The rest of Marvolo's facial features remained unchanged yet the vibes given off by the man was different from before. It was hypnotizing and alluring yet sinister, dark and threatening at the same time. Any other sane person would have screamed or run away, but Harry knew with certainty that the vampire in front of him would never harm him. Unconsciously, he lifted his right hand and began to trace the handsome face in front of him.

"Amazing." He murmured breathlessly, his fingers running slowly across the warm pearl-like skin which was as smooth as silk while taking in as much details as he could. The vampire form of his future mate took his breath away and his heart swelled with his love for this man.

"Remove your glamour, Harry." The whispered request was controlling and commanding, deep and husky. There was a power in that voice that made it hard for Harry to resist. Subconsciously, the yet-to-be-awakened vampire in him recognized and acknowledged his dominant through the mate bond and the presence of his mate's vampire form. Harry canceled the glamour without really knowing what he was doing.

The seductive grin that bloomed on Marvolo's face was like the man himself; dark, attractive and dangerous. Harry was lost. The powerful, overwhelming allure of his dominant muddled his mind so when Marvolo's lips descended upon his, he could only respond. The kiss was intoxicating and very different from their previous kisses. The tiny needle-like pricks highlighted the pleasure when those sharp fangs scratched across his tongue. When those sharp fangs punctured his tongue, the taste of his blood mingled with that of Marvolo's excited him for some unknown reasons. He was so absorbed in the kiss that he barely noticed he was moved from the stone bench to straddling the man's laps. Harry's hands were locked around the man when Marvolo turned his attention to Harry's neck. Panting shallowly, he titled his head to the side to allow the man better access.

His mate's smooth, tanned skin tasted as good as his mouth. With each nibble on the sensitive spots that he had sought out, he was rewarded with a tiny erotic moan. When he came to the pulsing veins, he sucked on the spot until a pool of blood gathered under the skin. He licked the skin moist and then sank his fangs into the flesh. Immediately, warm blood rushed into his mouth.

The feel of those sharp tips poised to pierce his skin raised goose bumps on the back of Harry's neck, his whole body tensed with anticipation of pain. When the fangs pierced through his skin, a sharp gasp escaped from him; not from pain but more from surprise. The foreign feeling of fangs lodged in his flesh and blood leaving his body scared and excited him at the same time. Instinctively, a small part of him wanted to withdraw but the strong arms which were tightly encircled around him prevented it. Soon with every draw of blood accompanied by the sucking sensation of Marvolo's mouth sent electrifying tingles down his spine which was highly arousing and made him moan softly and eliminated all thoughts of alarm from his mind. His heart felt like bursting from sensory overload and there was this need in the back of his mind urging him to get closer to his dominant. Blindly, his fingers threaded roughly through the wavy brown locks before holding Marvolo's head closer to his neck.

The coppery taste of blood mixed with his mate's unique scent was like a well aged wine; the taste swirling in his mouth served as fuel, adding fire to his growing arousal. Careful to only take small mouthful of blood every time, Marvolo brought their hips together, the contact coaxing a lustful moan from his mate.

"Marvolo." His name was whispered softly with a mixture of desire, pleading and passion.

Knowing what his mate asked for, he removed his fangs and licked the punctured holes closed. Without stopping, he proceeded to give Harry a bruising kiss while he thrust his hips upwards to create a delicious friction. Immediately, his mate responded by grinding his hips down making both of them groan loudly. Together they ground and writhed against each other in a rhythm and before long, both reached their completion.

With twin flushed cheeks and shallow breaths, Harry lay against Marvolo limply and waited for his heartbeat to return to normal. Never before had he felt anything like that—it was simply amazing.

After spending long minutes to calm his frantic heart, Marvolo pushed Harry slightly away from him so that he could look directly into his eyes. "Mine," he declared, possessive and vehement.

Catching the now-knowing warm glint in his dominant's eyes, a smile was brought to Harry's lips. "Yours," answered Harry shyly. He burrowed his face against Marvolo's neck and closed his eyes. He would just let Marvolo to take care of him now.

If anyone were to see the couple in their private moment now, they would agree that they could feel a strong sense of love entwining the couple together in such a way that it was impossible to sever.

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

The potions professor of Hogwarts had been thinking hard for the past three hours, and he could feel a headache forming at his temples. The Order meeting was tomorrow and he had yet to come up with a good plan—the crucial part of this plan requiring the capture of both men's attention during the meeting without their idiotic loud mouths going off and raising unwanted suspicion. To get them after that was rather easy for him as he was not without ideas—after all he had seven years of practices with the Marauders. A few stunners and binding hexes would do the trick.

Oh, if only there was a muzzle meant for animagus dog. Snape huffed and paced around his room when a thought struck him. 'Hmm—oh yes. In order to get a marauder, one must use a marauder's method.' The nemesis of the four most famous pranksters in Hogwarts history smirked gleefully.

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix and ancestral house of the Black family, was not a fun place to reside. As it had been left empty for decades without any proper maintenance, the house was in a dreadful state. The walls were grey; the floor was dull and washed out. Despite the noisy crowd gathering in the kitchen, the house felt gloomy and cheerless.

Tonks, Sirius, Remus, Mr. Weasley and his two eldest sons, Kingsley, Moody, Professor McGonagall and a few others sat around the kitchen table. Fred and George stood in a corner deep in discussion while Mrs. Weasley stood by the stove minding the stew. Ron and Ginny were helping their mother serve the food.

Amid the noisy crowd, two men talked in a low voice, "Padfoot, I was thinking of going to check on Harry. What do you think?"

"Count me in." Sirius was determined to follow. "I'm coming too."

"No, I'll be going alone."

A pleading Sirius turned to Remus, "Please Moony, let me come with you. I want to see my godson earlier."

"No, Padfoot, you can't. What happen if someone recognized you?"

"But I can go in my animagus form," wined Sirius.

"And attract more attention? You're not exactly a small puppy you know." Remus ignored his pleading and refused him flat out. "And how would Harry feel when he knew you risk your life unnecessarily on his behalf again?"

The animagus pouted and huffed in his seat. "I just want to see for myself if he is okay."

Remus understood how he felt. He worried about Harry too. Even though the headmaster had instructed him to pick up Harry on the boy's birthday and not to visit him before that, he wanted to check up on him to ensure that the Dursley did not do anything extreme. He would watch from afar, that did not count as a visit right? "Padfoot, quit your whining or I will not tell you how Harry is when I come back."

Sirius sulked like a defeated puppy. If he had been in his animagus form, his dog ears would have been drooping to the sides.

Mrs. Weasley, who was nearest to them, overheard their conversation. "Sirius, don't you worry, I'm sure Harry is fine. You'll be seeing him on his birthday." She gave a reassuring smile and turned back to her cooking. "Aren't you planning a birthday party for your godson?"

By now, everyone in the room had tuned in to their conversation.

The mention of a party made Sirius feel slightly better. Fred and George noticed Sirius's sour mood and tried to cheer him up, "We'll help **you to prank Harry**, you know like **giving him** a big surprise. **Imagine his reaction** when the prank explodes **on him**." As usual, they finished each other sentences flawlessly.

"Okay," agreed Sirius grumpily before exclaiming excitedly, "But I'm definitely going with you Moony, to buy presents for his birthday. There's this new model of Firebolt which I wanted to get for him and then there's this—"

"Yes, yes, yes, we will do that." Remus said quickly to shut him up.

Everyone else in the room chuckled but none noticed the jealous expression that flashed briefly on Ron's face. Amid the cheerful mood, the fire in the fireplace roared green before Dumbledore emerged from it followed closely by Snape.

The headmaster joyfully sat down at the head of the table while Mrs. Weasley promptly passed him a bowl of her stew. "Thank you, Molly."

Beside him an impassive Snape swooped down the length of the table and chose to sit at a corner beside Remus and away from Sirius. When Mrs. Weasley served him his own bowl, he inclined his head curtly to thank her.

As Dumbledore signaled the start of the meeting, Molly began to get her four youngest children out of the kitchen. Predictably, they started protesting. "Mum, we want to know how Harry is." "We are old enough to join the Order." "Please, mum."

Before their mother could reprimand them, Dumbledore cleared his throat and spoke. "Molly, it's alright. Today we will only be discussing Harry. I'm sure, as his friends, they would like to know."

The mother hen of the Weasley family gave her children a warning glare and sat down beside her husband. Heeding their mother silent warning seriously, the four teenagers stood quietly behind their parents.

"Severus, how is Voldemort taking his failure of tracking Harry?"

Snape took a drink from his cup before speaking. "He suspected me and had summoned me for interrogation. He believed my explanation." He then turned to look passed Remus to sneer at Sirius. "You're famous now, mutt. Even the dark lord now knew of your nickname. Maybe you should start giving out autographs signed with your paw print."

"Well, at least I'm popular and well-like unlike some sniveling bat." Sirius Black was someone who would never back down from challenging remarks, especially a sarcastic one coming from his ex-school rival. "Who would want your slimy, greasy autographs?" Muffled sniggers could be heard from the back of the room.

The potion master huffed, barely restraining himself from rolling his eyes.

Instead of restraining or scolding Sirius from making snarky retorts like he usually would, Remus looked embarrassed by his friend's remarks and shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

Dumbledore gave both men disapproving looks and diverted the group's attention back to the meeting. "Has Voldemort planned to try again?" He took on a worried grandfather look.

"No." Snape shook his head. "He did not summon me nor has there been any Death Eater meeting."

"Contact me if there is any news." The spy of the Light inclined his head at the order.

The headmaster then turned to speak to Ron and Ginny. "Can both of you keep an eye on Harry when the term starts? I suspect that Voldemort might again try to manipulate Harry's mind through their link." He said gravely. "Inform me when you sense there is something amiss with Harry."

"Okay." Both youngest of the Weasleys agreed eagerly, especially Ron. He looked like someone given a very important mission.

A worried Molly spoke up. "Perhaps Harry should continue with his Occlumency lessons with you, Headmaster."

Dumbledore intervened before Professor McGonagall could say anything. "It is a must but I will be travelling much this year so I'm not a suitable choice." He gave his transfiguration teacher a meaningful look to stop her from questioning his decision. "Severus, you would have to continue the lesson."

A distasteful look appeared on the potion master's face before being partially replaced by a grimace. "Of course."

Before Dumbledore could continue Remus suddenly asked, "Professor, can Harry leave the Dursleys earlier?"

Dumbledore peeked through his half-moon spectacles to look at the ex-DADA professor. "I'm afraid not, Remus. Voldemort has made his presence known, it is now even more important for Harry to stay at his relatives' home to recharge the blood ward."

Remus nodded glumly and gave his best friend an I-tried-my-best look. The animagus clapped him on the shoulder and sighed.

The rest of the meeting went smoothly and when it was over, Remus dragged Sirius to the family library before he could approach Fred and George. "Come on, Padfoot. Time to write out that list of presents," said the werewolf enthusiastically.

"But Moonyyyyy—later please. I wanna—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Remus folded his arms and looked unfazed by Sirius's whining. "If you don't want to write the list out, it is fine with me but you will not be going out at all. I will make sure of that," he warned.

Padfoot pouted and sulked, practically behaving like a naughty child who had been denied candies by his parents. Everyone laughed as they watched a reluctant Sirius towed behind Remus. Well, except for a certain potions master. He was smirking smugly as he stepped into the floo. Phase one of his plan was complete.

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

Remus was sitting beside Sirius at the table, eating the delicious stew cooked by Molly. The other Order members were also present, waiting for the meeting to start.

Before long, the Headmaster and Snape arrived. As always, Professor Dumbledore sat at the head of the table but Snape chose to sit beside him. Remus was a bit baffled by the potion master's choice but he dismissed it casually. It was not as if Snape would attack him here, right?

Soon the meeting began. When Snape turned to taunt Sirius, their eyes locked briefly and in that split second, a message popped into his mind, 'Do not panic.'

Remus nearly jumped from his seat but immediately his instinct told him to follow the instruction. There must be a reason why Snape chose to communicate in this fashion. He braced himself so as to not to look suspicious. To the others, he merely looked like he was shifting to a more comfortable position. So when Snape looked passed him the second time, he was not as startled as before. 'Leg.'

Remus was curious but did not show it on his face. He shifted half of his attention to his legs and a few seconds later, he could feel a pressure on top of his right shoe. Since Snape sat on his right, it must be him.

The pressure on his shoe quickly changed to tapping and it was alternating randomly between short and long pauses. It took him a while before he realized Snape was talking to him in Morse code. A trick used by them, the Marauders, during their school days.

Without much difficulty, he could make out the message from the potion master. 'Drink if understand.' He did as told and the tapping resumed. 'Meet Shrieking Shack, take Sirius.' Pause. 'Tomorrow three pm. Tell no one, important.' The tapping stopped when Snape answered the headmaster's order.

Snape's odd request made Remus very curious but also very wary. Why did the man not want to let anyone know? Was this a trap? He even used Padfoot's name. Was this to do with Harry? Without thinking, he burped out a question. "Professor, can Harry leave the Dursleys earlier?"

Luckily, no one was puzzled by his question. To cover up his mistake, he pretended to have asked it on the behalf of Padfoot by giving his best friend an apologetic look.

The tapping continued, 'Tell no one, important.'

Remus moved his shoe discreetly so that it was the one on top, 'Why?' He would not blindly trust anyone when said person's motive was unclear.

There was a long pause before their shoe's position inverted, 'I swear on Lily's memory.'

Remus coughed lightly to cover up his surprise. It must be something extremely important that Snape was willing to swear on Lily's memory to gain his cooperation. Deciding to trust the man, he gave the potions master a slight curt nod. Then the tapping reminded him again, 'Tell no one.' To assure the man that he had understood his repeated requests on secrecy, he rested his chin on the back of his hand to disgust his nod.

When the meeting was over, Remus immediately pulled Sirius into the family library in order to tell him what had happened.

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

Two men stood inside the dusty and run down Shrieking Shack. Despite being skeptical on the motive behind Snape's request, both men had not told anyone about their secret meeting as they suspected that it had to do with Harry. There was no way they would risk Harry's well being unnecessarily.

It was half an hour past the agreed time and Sirius began to get impatient. "Moony, that dungeon bat must have tricked us. He's not coming and must be laughing at us right now. Let's just go."

"Hold on, Padfoot. Maybe something held him up. Let's just wait a bit longer." Remus tried to persuade him to stay. From what he knew about Severus Snape, he was not someone who would go such length just to pull a prank.

After another 10 minutes gone by and no appearance of Snape were made, Sirius finally had enough. "That's it. I'm going to punch that sniveling snak—"

Precisely at the same moment when the word 'sniveling' was said, four spells were fired towards both men from different direction. The sudden action caught them by surprise, and in a blink of an eye they found themselves tied up securely by thick ropes. From the corner of their eyes as they lay immobile on the floor, they watched with dread as Snape—grinning like a cat which had just captured its prey—emerged from the trap door which led to the underground passage connected to Hogwarts.

"My my, how the great Sirius Black had fallen," taunted the potions master as he proceeded to pick up thumb-size stones from the corners of the room.

"What do you want, you slimy snake?" demanded Sirius angrily. "I knew it, Moony! I told you not to believe him! He is a traitor!"

Remus did not say anything. He was waiting for a chance to distract Snape.

"Tut-tut, mutt, how stupid can you be? Of course I will be serving the both of you on a silver platter to the Dark Lord." He let his wand slide into his hand and approached the two fallen men.

"Wait!" shouted Remus. "What did you do? There is no way you could have fired four spells from different directions at the same time." He hoped he could stall for extra time while thinking furiously for a way to escape.

"Ever the bookworm." The potions master shook his head at the knowledge-hungry werewolf. "I used rune stones. I set it to be activated when some choice words were spoken." Before both bound men could speak further, Snape casted several stunners at them.

The potion master smiled in triumph at the two unconscious men. Phase two of his plan was complete. The Dark Lord would be pleased.

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

**Important A/N**: Please give rounds of applause to Chocolate Wolf (my Beta). If not for her/him, you would have to put up with my lousy English once again. *grin*

A/N (1): I hope the lime can make up for the long wait. *wink wink* lol

A/N (2): **Thank you** for your encouragement on my English. At first I'm not so confident about it, but your reviews made me feel that I'm not so bad after all. And now I did have my Beta, so… *cheering with a pom-pom* :P

**HerebTheLostRaven**: No, I'm not offended. You did like my story enough to give me reviews. That's an encouragement from you *big bright smile*

**RRW**: Thanks for your long review. I love it. You raised some really good points that got me thinking hard. Marvolo's issue will be explained soon… I need to plan. Coincidently, what you said on intro new blood is also what I'm thinking too :3

**Trinity Fenton-Phantom**: I will introduce the rest of Vamperor's abilities later. As for Fawkes and familiar… can't tell you now, it will spoilt the fun *grin* there's a reason for why Fawkes helped Harry and I wonder did you notice yet? Fawkes did help Harry again. heehee…

**To all**: Happy New Year!


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